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sugar-plum-writer · 3 months

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The Serene Peony Of Winter

Paring: Sukuna!King of Curses x Fem!Geisha Reader

Tags: Slight! mention of violence; Fem!reader; Sukuna!imagines; will be 18+ as more chapters come; slow!burn, [I want to have a good build up!], an ancient Japan romance through time with darling reader~

[If you all like it, please heart and reblog the post! to know you want to read more~ and follow for chapter updates! or leave a comment to tag you when I put out new chapters~ I will do my best to roll out UPDATES ASAP!] New Chapter! @naoyagasm @janeaugustine @teonawrites @periwinkless-universe @rosemaydone321 @may-machin @annoyingstrawberryballoon

CHAPTER - 7

Warm gazes of the sun poured in and illuminated the room, as a gentle breeze carried the air of summer. Laying beside him under the sheets you caressed his face with moments of the previous night playing in your brain.

"If anyone had told me this is what my geisha life would have come to…I would have ignored them and laughed"

Where is my life going?

Deep in thought, all memories of the past flooded your brain. It felt like a play of sorts, the only difference being that rather than a story with a happily ever after it had no route

It was like a wandering boat in the ocean-going where the wind led it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Many days had passed, and now you were his lover, not just any lover, one of his most if not the only prized lover of the one and only Sukuna 'The King of Curses'.

Many things had happened, and many people had died. The Shogun was pressured by not only the Emperor but also the Big Sorcerer clans- Gojo, Zenin, Kamo, Fukiwara, Inumaki, etc to find who it was. You had stopped being a Geisha, as well he would have killed them if you had continued; accompanying him wherever he went in your Hikizuri holding your Wagasa above your head making the days pass by peacefully.

Recently you and Sukuna decided to go to a mountain. It was nothing too big, just a short walk to enjoy the scenery of summer, it was a bit isolated so that sorcerers would not track him down, he did not care- but well for your safety he kept an eye out.

"It sure is quite sunny today", you muttered as you walked beside him lifting the hem of your Hikizure to not stumble.

Unexpectedly he stops causing you to lift your head to where he is looking making your eyes widen in shock as the scene unfolding is unusual and it was quite peculiar.

Huge trees stood on both sides of an entrance, there were men bridal carrying their wives up the steep stone stairs, and many more couples shyly held hands.

"Hm…Interesting", he smirked curiously

As you and he stood looking at what was going on a couple approached you

"Excuse me? Is this the 'Sakurasou Ceremony' Shrine?", the man enthusiastically walked holding his wife's hand

"The, 'Sakurasou Ceremony', what is it?", intrigued you and Sukuna looked at the couple

"Oh! It's your first time here?"

"Yes"

"It's a ritual, where the husband carries his wife up the stairs of the shrine, it's a steep climb of 450 stairs, sincerely without stopping or any tricks! It's said that whoever completes this ritual has their souls forever tied together till the end of time!", chirping in the lady laughed

"It's a ritual that can only be done once in 100 years, to do it again you need to wait 100 years! Rarely have people been able to complete it because you cannot stop and even rest! once you start there is no stopping~"

Soon a voice is heard and the couple walks away happily, giggling and chatting

"Humans sure are unique, a ritual like this?", he laughed intrigued

"It is…can the people who complete it really have their souls… tied together forever?", giving him a small smile your eyes traced the stairs which looked never-ending in wonder

"Let's do it shall we?" with a smirk he grabbed your wrist

"W-Wait what!? Are you crazy!? we are not even married!", your eyes widened in shock as you implored him to think again, but he continued walking without hearing anything

"Sukuna!" with a scream you pulled your hand away from his grasp

"We are not…married, are you sure?" you gazed at him with your hands trembling protesting

"Does it matter? Is marriage needed for me to love you forever Y/n? And I am curious so what do you say?" Grabbing your wrist his eyes looked into yours unwaveringly

"Alright…", with a whisper you tried to hide your blush and your heart pounded in your lungs threatening to blow up.

This is crazy

Walking together you made your way to the entrance, your hand intertwined in his as the Sakura petals fell from the trees gracing a journey. Arriving at the entrance, the first step.

With a smirk he pulled you towards him, swooping you off your feet into his arms, with that the climb started; 450 steps non-stop.

Beads of sweat glistened and rolled down his forehead to his neck soaking him, the sun was scorching hot shining above both your heads with your hands wrapped around his neck.

Using his ability he would have completed this in no time but- to think he was obeying the rules and following the process of carrying you, him a god-like figure was obeying the rules of a mortal ritual.

With the sleeve of your Hikizuri, you wiped the sweat off his face with worry in your eyes.

"Sukuna…"

"What?" with a smirk, he kissed you

"No need to worry, what are you worried about?"

"I am The King of curses after all", picking up pace he continued climbing

Some hours passed and you both took the final step reaching the top, and completed the ritual. The priests were stunned to see someone being able to complete it and hurriedly rushed to offer glasses of water.

"To complete this you sir have gained my respect! haha!", one priest laughed as others chatted

He simply stood smugly beside you with pride bathing in the praises and his ego inflated to the moon.

His hands wrapped around your waist looking into your eyes, seeing him like this you could not help but smile and kiss him. It got a bit sensual as his hands started roaming around your body.

"So.." the head priest coughed, "How long have you two been married for?"

Before you could speak Sukuna spoke

"We are not married"

Causing the priests to gasp in shock as an old lady stepped in front of you both

"Would you like to get married?" with a warm smile she looked at you both holding her walking stick

"No-No it's fine" you chuckled nervously shaking your head

Your body shook, goosebumps spread across your skin causing your hair to stand on end. A shock so deep your bones felt rattled, feeling your legs give out hearing the words that came out of his mouth.

"Yes, we shall"

"W-Wait…Sukuna! I-"

The old lady went to fetch some items from the inner sanctum of the shrine with a smile as other priests began preparations for the ceremony.

"Y/n…I don't need marriage to know you are mine and I am yours, but..", he tucked a strand of your hair behind your ears smirking

"I found a wish list of yours, and one of them was getting married. Mortal rituals mean nothing to me but…since it's your wish I will grant it today"

Stunned feeling all air leave your lungs as you stood steeled on the spot looking at him; feeling time stop and the breeze coming to a halt.

Before you knew it the ritual had started

"Groom, do you Sukuna, marry this woman and become her partner. Will you in peaceful times, during sickness, love this person, respect this person, comfort this person, help this person, until death, do you promise to fulfill?"

"I do even beyond death"

"Bride, do you Y/n, marry this man and become his partner. Will you in peaceful times, during sickness, love this person, respect this person, comfort this person, help this person, until death, do you promise to fulfill?"

The shimmering sake poured from the Heavens down to Earth, overflowing with a fate sealed forever. No matter how many flowers bloom, wither, and turn to dust, this thread of fate has forever been tied even beyond the universe itself. "I do forever"

Footnotes: >Such a ritual does not exist in Japan the 'Sakurasou' is actually a flower meaning 'Eternal love' hence 'Sakurasou Ceremony Shrine' literally translates to 'Eternal Love Ceremony Shrine'. >But such a ritual does exist in India I stumbled across it as I was searching romantic rituals related to carrying brides and whatnot all over the world. It is their in a temple where the groom literally has to carry the bride 450 steps to reach the temple since many people are not able to do it 5 steps have been kept as minimum. If you wanna learn more just look it up lol I thought it was very romantic~ hehe~ I added some of my own stuff to the original ritual! So yeah! >The wedding vows written here are real that is done is Japanese traditional marriage~

>Check out my masterlist for all chapters and other works!

Authors Note:

[Sorry for the late update! My college is killing me lol but fret not! I now have study leave for my semester exams so! I will put out chapters frequently~ and thanks for more than 80 followers like damn...I am shook...I might do a q/a and open my asks for all of you! I will tell you all when I do! Might even do an introduction! haha!]

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crazyunsexycool · 6 months

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Unbreakable

Chapter 5

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 2.9K

Warnings: some fluff, some angst, nightmare, mentions of abuse, talks of implied sexual assault, Marvin being a good boy, Steve being his dreamy self (at least I think so),

A/N: These two are so cute together. 🥹

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The compound was huge and mostly empty. You looked at it with awe as your taxi drove away. Marvin sat next to you but by the shuffling he was doing he wanted to explore. The glass walls only exposed the dark empty entrance but you didn’t dare just walk in. No, you’d stay just where you were until Steve came out. It apparently took a few minutes from wherever he was in the belly of the building but soon enough you saw his large silhouette through the glass.

“Hey.” He says with a smile once he opens the door. “How was the drive up? I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up but some briefings held me up.”

“It’s ok. The drive wasn’t bad but the taxi driver had horrible taste in music.”

He smiles as he grabs the gym bag you brought with you and holds the door open for you. It had been about a week since the first movie night. The next day he had been called out for a mission that lasted almost the full week. It didn’t help that there was also limited contact. But it did help you think about the relationship that was forming between the two of you. Was it just friendship or was there a hint of more? You wanted to say the latter but you were forcing yourself to not go there.

“Nat’s very excited to meet you.”

“Well I’m very excited to meet her too.”

Today was the first day of your training on self defense. It was exciting but nerve wracking.

“Would you like a tour first? I think Nat is finishing up on some paperwork.”

“Ok.” You looked up and smiled at Steve.

He led you through common rooms and the living quarters, empty labs, meeting rooms, the gun range and ended in the gym. The whole time the building was empty. Not a single soul other than you and Steve. And Marvin of course.

“This is where we do— did our training.”

“Every day?”

“Yeah, we would partner up with different team members to make sure we could handle different fighting styles. We would practice different combat tactics with everyone’s abilities.” There was fondness and regret mixed in his words. His eyes were distant as if he were reliving memories that happened right in this very room.

Across the room a door opens and in walks Nat. You maybe looked her up to see how intimidating she was and you were not disappointed. Marvin is practically vibrating next to you as Nat gets closer. There is an air of aloofness but her eyes betray her. She gives you a practiced smile as she stops before you.

“Nat this is Y/N, Y/N this is Nat.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

“I could say the same thing.”

Marvin nudges Nat’s thigh and huffs until he gets attention.

“And who is this handsome boy?”

“This is Marvin, he’s my service dog. You can pet him if you like.”

Nat goes on one knee and Marvin nudges her chest until she is scratching behind his ears. You look up at Steve who has a sad expression on his face. After another minute of Nat and Marvin getting to know each other she stands back up.

“So, Steve tells me you want to learn how to defend yourself.”

“Yes and I really appreciate both of you doing this. I know you’re probably really busy and it means a lot.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s good to have a few moves under your belt. Now, do you have any fighting experience at all?”

“Does swinging a frying pan count?” You grimace.

“Did you hit the intended target?”

You nod as you remember the day of the snap.

“Then it does. I want to show you a few very basic moves and go from there. That way I can see what we need to work on. It will probably take a few lessons, I hope that’s ok?”

“Whatever you think works best. I am here to learn.”

“Good, Steve is going to be our training dummy. He was kind enough to volunteer.” Nat smiles genuinely this time and you smile back. “Ok so I’m going to show you one move and then you’ll do it. That way I can see where you are and where to go from there.”

You nod and move to sit at a bench Nat pointed to. With the help of Steve she starts showing you simple moves. Then you get up and practice the same moves over and over until you get them right. You’re beaming by the time the lesson is halfway through and you all take a break. It’s more for your sake than theirs. Steve takes Marvin for a walk and promises to bring back more water bottles. That leaves you and Nat alone and considering how thoughtful and careful she has been up to now, being under her scrutiny makes you cautious.

“He likes you, you know.” Nat finally breaks her silence. Her statement leaves you unsure of how to respond. “You don’t have to like him like that. Steve is respectful and won’t ever push you to do something you don’t want but thank you for just being there for him. I haven’t seen him smile like he used to in a long time.”

“H-how can you be sure it’s because of me? Maybe he just became my friend because of Marvin.”

“He is a cute dog.”

“The best boy.”

Nat cracks a grin and leans back, propping herself on her elbows. Before you can pick up the conversation you both hear something happening outside. The wind had picked up and there was something mechanical whirling until it stopped. Everything went completely still and you looked over at Nat to find that she wasn’t worried at all. About a minute later Steve walks back in with Marvin in tow and two strangers. A rather odd pairing. It was a raccoon and a blue lady. Marvin trots happily to his spot next to you but you feel on edge.

“Hey Romanoff.” The raccoon greets your new found friend.

“Rocket, Nebula. How was the flight?”

“It could have been worse.” The woman, Nebula you assumed, answered. “Who’s this?”

“This is Y/N a friend.”

“Hi.” You squeak out with an awkward wave.

Black eyes bore into yours and you feel like she’s reading your thoughts and maybe she is. After a few awkward seconds she finally looks bored and moves on. Both Nebula and Rocket excuse themselves to go freshen up.

“So you guys work with a talking raccoon?”

They both nod as if a talking raccoon is the most normal thing in the world.

“I’m very disappointed you never told me you know a raccoon that can talk.”

“How exactly was I supposed to work that into a conversation?”

“I don’t know.” You shrug. “Nat would have done it.”

“I really would have.”

Steve shakes his head but chuckles while you and Nat high five.

“I think we’re done for today.”

“I should get going.”

“Don’t. Stay and hang out with us.” Nat says. “You brought a change of clothes, right?”

You nod.

“Perfect, stay the night then. I’ll show you to one of the spare bedrooms.”

She didn’t give you a choice but you still looked at Steve. He only smiled and gave you a nod.

“I like her.” Nat said as she walked into the living room. “You two would be perfect together.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think she’s looking for a relationship.”

“Have you talked about it with her?”

“No but I'm sure that after whatever happened to her she’s looking to stay as far away from relationships as possible.”

“Well you won’t know until you talk about it. Don’t wait until it’s too late. I saw how you looked at each other.”

“Fine, when the time is right I’ll sit down and talk to her.”

“Talk to who?” Rocket walked in with Nebula following close behind.

“It’s nothing. How was your mission?”

Nebula and Rocket start telling them all of the details about their latest mission in deep space. They’re engrossed in the story so no one hears you walk toward the living room.

“And then bam.” Rocket says and then yelps when Marvin barks. He turned around with a gun in his hand and pointed in your direction.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me. Nothing scares me.”

“What about that time that we-“

“Nope, not scared.” Rocket cuts Nebula off and even though she doesn’t seem like the type of person that smiles the essence of a smile graces her lips for a second.

You smile as you take the open spot next to Steve on the couch and Marvin lays at your feet.

“How about a movie?” Nat grabs a remote from the coffee table and puts something on.

The night had been nice. Steve was glad that you’d stayed for an impromptu movie night. The longer he spent around you the more he could see a weight lift off your shoulders, a light come back to your eyes. It made him care for you more, to want and protect you from all the bad things that this world still had to offer. He laid in bed wondering if it would be too soon to ask you out on a proper date. Maybe he would talk about it with Nat first and get her opinion. Steve closed his eyes with the hope of getting some sleep before he drove you back to the city.

Marvin’s bark pulls Steve out of the state of drowsiness he found himself in. Were you trying to take him outside and got lost? Steve gets up and before he opens the door to his room a blood curdling scream rips through the air. His feet move faster than his brain as he runs down the hall. Nat is there with a gun in hand ready to attack whoever is hurting you. Another scream, there’s begging for someone to stop hurting you and Steve is ready to rip whoever it is into pieces.

“Friday, how many intruders are there?” Nat asks in a whisper.

“There are no intruders. Ms. Y/L/N seems to be having a nightmare.”

Nat looks up at Steve and quietly asks him what to do.

“You should go in first. I think she’ll feel safer with a woman.”

Nat nods and hands him her gun. She opens the door as you yell again. Marvin is on the bed trying to wake you up as you struggle against the bed sheets that are now wrapped around you.

“Y/N, you’re ok. You’re safe.” Nat calls out softly. “I need you to wake up for me. Y/N you’re safe. We aren’t going to let anyone hurt you.”

You wake up with a small gasp and tears rolling down your temples.

“Can I come closer?�� Nat asks from the foot of the bed.

Through the soft moonlight filtered through the window she sees you nod. Nat moves around so that you can see her better.

“Can I untangle the bed sheets?”

You nod again and she makes quick work of it.

“Steve is right outside, would you like him in here with you or do you prefer that I stay?”

“Steve.” You whisper.

He couldn’t help the warmth that spread through him with the knowledge that you felt safe with him. Nat walks out and nods towards the room before telling him that she would make you some tea. Standing in the doorway with just the moon as a light source he can see your tear stained cheeks and the look of fear still in your eyes as you sit up against the headboard. Marvin drapes himself over your lap in order to provide you with comfort.

“What can I do for you Y/N?” Steve asks softly but you still startle at his voice.

“Um… I- Could you-“

“It’s ok, take your time.” Steve says as he watches you struggle to give him an answer.

“Sit with me.” You say after a moment.

“I can do that.”

Steve walks in and sits at the foot of the bed but for you that’s too far. You finally look up at him and he gives you a gentle, reassuring smile.

“Too far.” You mumble with a small pout.

“Where should I sit then?”

You answer by pulling back the covers and patting the spot next to you. Steve gets up and moves around the bed but doesn’t sit.

“Are you sure you’re comfortable with me sitting here?”

“Yes.”

Steve nods and settles into the spot beside you. “Do you want to talk about it?”

You look up at him just as Nat walks in with a cup of tea.

“This should help calm your nerves. If you need anything I’m just down the hallway.”

“Thanks Nat.” You say as you grab the mug and take a sip.

She smiles and walks out leaving you and Steve alone again. It’s alone for a few minutes.

“It was more like a memory than a nightmare.” You start. “He was pinning me down by pressing his knee on my chest and I couldn’t breathe. Then he was ripping off my clothes-“ you choked a sob and Steve took your hand in his.

Marvin lifted his head and licked away the tears. You pet his head until he settles back down and then you rest your head on Steve’s shoulder.

“I hate feeling like I’ll never be free of his hold.”

“I know you can’t see it right now but you’ve come a long way already.”

“It doesn’t feel like it.” You huff.

“Tell me something, before when he was around how many times a week were you able to go out and hang out with friends? Maybe go have dinner or a girls night? Or go hang out at a friend’s house?”

“Never.”

“If we would have met before everyone blipped, would we have been able to be friends?”

“Absolutely not.” You shake your head. “He wouldn’t have allowed it.”

“Yet here you are. You went out to lunch with your friend the other day. We had a movie night at your place. We’ve gone to the dog park and you’re even having a sleepover.

So while you feel like he still has a hold on you, every time you do something he wouldn’t have liked you’re freeing yourself.”

You sat there and thought about what he said.

“He would have hated you.”

“I think I can live with that.” Steve squeezes your hand.

“Can I ask for a favor? You can say no.”

“Anything.”

“Could you stay here tonight?”

“If you’re sure then yes.”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright, let’s get comfortable.” He says and begins to shuffle around to lay back down.

The next morning Steve wakes up first. Marvin is huffing on his side of the bed wanting to be let out. Steve doesn’t want to move though because you’re comfortably asleep on his chest with his arm around you. He can’t help the smile he gets when he looks down at you sleeping soundly. He’ll make sure to commit this moment to memory so that he can draw it later.

“You’re really warm.” You say in a sleepy voice.

“Is that bad?”

“Absolutely not. It's the best, I’m always cold.”

“So you’re just using me for my body heat?”

You giggle and press yourself into him more. “Yes, I am.”

Marvin whines again and scratches at the door.

“I have to take him out.” You say as you start to get up.

“I’ll take him for a run. Stay in bed or go find Nat.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to impose.”

“I’m offering.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” Steve reluctantly gets up and takes Marvin with him while you lay back down. It’s the first time in years that you manage to have a smile on your face so early in the morning.

After having spent some more time with Nat and Nebula Steve drove you home.

“You should take him running more often. He’s never this calm.” You say while looking at Marvin in the back seat.

“Well I do run a lot. I probably tired him out.”

Steve stops his car right in front of your building and gets out to open your door for you. Even though it’s a short walk to your front door he walks beside you with your bag in his hand.

“I’m glad you came over yesterday. Hopefully we can do this again soon. Nat was already bugging me about bringing you back.”

“Nat’s great. We even made plans to go out sometime soon.”

“Well I’m very proud of you.”

Steve beams and you can’t help but return the smile.

“I’m proud of myself too. Thank you for everything Steve.” Unconsciously you throw your arms around his midsection and hug him right.

His arms wrap around you and you feel him kiss the top of your head. You can’t help but sigh at the comforting gesture.

“I’ll see you soon?” You ask hopefully.

“Of course, unless Nat decides to keep you for herself.”

“Never,” you shake your head. “I’ll always have time for you.”

“Good, I’ll make sure to use it all up then.”

You take your bag from him and unlock the front door. With a final wave goodbye you and Marvin head up to your apartment. It’s the first time in a very long time that you’ve felt the heavy weight of guilt and anger and regret get lighter. You can’t help but think that Steve is right. With everything you go out and do you are freeing yourself from his hold on you.

More importantly you’re starting to feel like yourself again.

Ch. 6

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#unbreakable series #steve rogers fanfic #Steve Rogers x reader #Steve Rogers x you #steve rogers x y/n #captain America #Steve Rogers series #Steve Rogers slow burn

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twinklelilstarkey · 2 years

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Drunk - Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Words: 2.4k+ Type: Fluff Summary: Jake being clingy while drunk. Warnings: GenderNeutral!Reader. Mentions of alcohol and being drunk. Jake wants to kidnap dogs on the street. From this request

I do NOT give you permission to repost my work. If you’d like to read my stories on other platforms, you can find them on my Wattpad and AO3.

Jake left the house probably around 9PM for a night out with his friends. He told you that he had no intention of getting too drunk, but you also happen to know him and his friends for long enough to know that what he said is a bunch of bullshit.

Whenever at a bar, days after being back home, Jake will drink and cheer for everything his friends find fitting. So, you already planned on picking him up on the day he told you of his plans.

And, just like expected, one of his friends called you 15 minutes ago to come to pick him up. You got in your car not too long after that and drove yourself to the bar. You waited for maybe 5 minutes, and the group appeared at the bar’s door with everyone clinging to one another.

You decided to get out of the car to help them out. They spotted you right away, so two of Jake’s friends began to separate him from the others and begin to lead him toward you. Jake was confused, even with a smile on his face, but he let them take him to wherever they found right.

When Jake first noticed you, he was a step away from you. You couldn’t contend with your laughter at how drunk he was, because he truly had not seen you yet. Meanwhile, you talked to his friends about if they had fun or how their night was overall. And only then, Jake noticed you.

“Baby!”

It was the easiest way to detach him from his friends, but now you had your boyfriend extending his arms your way for a hug. You laugh at him and accept the hug. You have to also, eventually, wrap one of your arms around him and put him on your side so you can keep on going with the conversation. Jake leaned his cheek at the top of your head and closed his eyes as you spoke, all while his arms were tightly wrapped around you.

As soon as you said your goodbyes, you had to take Jake to the car and passenger seat. Walking was the easiest part, as Jake would trust anyone that led him, and he opened his eyes as soon as he heard you open the car door.

But that’s when he saw someone’s dogs. The poor person was just taking their dogs out for some sort of night jog, and now your boyfriend was letting go of you and happily running towards them. You have no idea how many times you said his name, trying to get back his attention, or how many times you said “sorry” to the jogger, but they didn’t seem to take the drunk pilot’s intentions as any way bad.

You stood behind Jake while he kneeled on the floor and pet the dogs of the jogger with a huge smile on his face. You held onto him, scared that he might fall over in a drunken slumber, and the dogs happily came on closer to him and licked his cheeks from time to time. Jake’s baby voice made a hell out of an appearance in this interaction.

It took him a while to face you again, while still very much entertained with the dogs. He made you almost get down on the floor with him only so he could whisper: "Do you think we can kidnap 'em?"

Honestly, you didn't even know where to start in explaining how that was a bad idea.

You had to eventually tell him to let go of the dogs and lead him back to the car. Jake made sure to say goodbye to the dogs and remind them of their outstanding cuteness before you took him away.

When he was finally inside the car, you ran to your side and turned on the child lock on all doors before he got any ideas. When the car was on and beginning to leave that street, Jake didn’t hesitate in taking his phone out of his pocket, grabbing the aux cord, and playing nothing but country music.

Jake screamed, shouted, and pulled windows down to sing the lyrics to random people on the street or to serenade you when you stopped at a red light. You had to make sure he had the seatbelt on him the whole time, but he never went too crazy.

Midway through your drive home, Jake made sure to remind you how much he loved those dogs ‘back there’ and how he would love to have one. He slurred some of his words but he was able to describe to you the perfect dog and even made you promise to ‘look for one' just like it tomorrow morning.

Now, the two of you got home. Your ears were ringing slightly after such loud country music, but you didn’t dare to complain. You get off the car first and help Jake get out as well. He instinctively throws his arm around your shoulders and helps close the door of the car. When you try to turn him to face your front door, he has his head back on top of yours.

“You smell good.” He tells, before continuing to sniff you.

You thank him through your laughter and force him to walk with you. When inside, he lets go of you all of a sudden and walks to the kitchen. You lock everything back up before following him to where he disappeared to. You find him forearm-deep into the freezer and simply watch as you try to understand what he’s doing.

A box of frozen pizza is pulled out, and Jake lets out a sound of pure joy. He turns to you with his big smile and almost trips on his way to the oven. You have to be the one to close the door of the freezer as he continues to leave things behind.

When you turn back around to face him, you see him with pizza in hand, the oven just turned on and his hand on the handle to open it.

“It needs to be preheated first!” You say right away, “And take the plastic off.”

“What plas-” Jake’s eyes go back to the cold pizza in his hand, and he does notice, finally, that the circle of dough with toppings has, indeed, plastic all around it. “Oh.”

The door of the oven is closed back up, and you watch Jake rip the plastic surrounding the pizza. You walk closer to him, already getting ready to pick up the trash he will drunkenly throw off his way and later ignore, and his attention is stolen by you by accident. His eyes go over to you when you reach to grab the plastic he so peeled off, and his mind goes blank.

Jake puts down the pizza and turns to you. You look at him confused and, out of nowhere, he grabs your face with his two hands and kisses you.

“I love you so much.” He says while with his mouth glued to yours.

“I love you more.” You say, pulling your head back a little and creating some distance between you to make you able to see his face.

Jake stares at you with your face still in his hands, and you stare back at him. His smile isn’t there anymore but he’s staring at you with such a peaceful look in his eyes, you can’t even get yourself to tease him for his sudden silence after the love confession.

“You’re so beautiful.” He says with the same look on his face.

You awn at him out loud and bring your hands to his wrists. He kisses you one more time and then wraps his arms around you, squeezing you close to his chest into a tight hug. You’re more than humored by what he’s doing, so you obviously hug him back.

It’s not until a few long seconds of silence that you notice that Jake won’t be letting go of you any soon. You turn your head, while still being squeezed against him, and grab the trash that you so want off your kitchen counter. Jake, unphased by your actions, leans his head on you and begins to close his eyes.

The first time you notice him laying his head on you, you quickly pinch him awake. If he falls asleep on you, you will be on your kitchen floor the entire night. You are having none of that.

Jake groans at the pinch, and you push him off of you for just a little. Maybe if you keep him occupied, he will forget how tired he is. So, you pass him the trash and point it over to the trashcan in the corner of the room. Jake simply stares at the plastic on your hand, and you have to be the one to physically put it in his hand, turn his body around, and push him in the direction of the trash.

That seems to work, so, while your drunk boyfriend walks to the trash to get rid of what you just handed him, you go ahead and put the pizza in a tray so he doesn’t get your just-clean-oven dirty by dropping the pizza in any way.

Jake didn’t talk much while you two waited for the oven to preheat, but he did eventually come back to your side and wrap one of his arms around you.

When the pizza was done, the two of you sat on the couch while he ate peacefully. You paid more attention to him than anything else because Jake so happens to be a very interested individual with his food while he chews. He stares at it for very long seconds before taking another bite. He also lets one of those dreamlike sighs randomly after taking a bite. Or try to always pick the next slice as if it’s his first. He’s entertaining, to say the least.

As soon as he was done with the food, while you weren’t looking, Jake looked at you. You were just laying back on the arm of the long couch the two of you are sitting on. You’ve eventually changed into more in-house clothing, and, in Jake’s eyes, you never looked more comfortable.

Jake does it so quickly and so suddenly, that an actual scream escapes you. He grabs your ankle, pulls at it until you’re practically laying your back on the couch, and before you can even begin to ask anything, Jake lays his head on your chest. Half of his body stays in between your legs, his arms stay by your sides, and his torso and head are right on you.

“Do that thing.” Jake says.

“What thing?”

He simply grabs one of your hands just by his arms and literally throws it to lay over his head. It clicks in your head exactly what he wants. You look down at him while your hand has not begun to move, and slowly do it. As soon as you begin to play with the strands of his hair and move throughout his scalp, Jake’s eyes fall closed.

You have a smile on your face right as he does it and he has, now, the most peaceful look on his face. You stare at him for just a little while longer, sometimes even bringing your hands to trace imaginary lines over his cheeks or jawline. You can feel how relaxed he is on top of you.

Your eyes move back to the TV, watching whatever ads are playing on there, and never stop the movements of your hands. After a few minutes, Jake is so relaxed that you don’t really know if he is asleep or not. He never seems to open his eyes, nor move his arms by your sides.

It’s not until you stop playing with his hair to try and grab the remote for the TV from the coffee table that the answer to your previous question is answered. The biggest whine of all existence breaks from the man above you. You wholeheartedly laugh at that, and Jake lifts his head from your chest right away.

Jake tries to give you the best glare he can muster since not only have you stopped playing with his hair, but now your torso is shaking with laughter. Yet his fake anger doesn’t last very long as you keep on giggling.

A small grin stays over his lips while he tries to hide the fact that your laughter is very contagious to him, and he looks over at the TV.

When you eventually calm down, you expect Jake to lay his head back down but he doesn’t. He instead raises himself with one hand on the couch and stares down at your torso.

You, this time, try to figure out his next move before he does anything, but it’s impossible. And, just when you least expect it, Jake lifts the shirt you’re wearing and, due to it doing oversized, easily slides under it. Jake’s head now rests on your chest again, but, this time, skin to skin. And he relaxes almost instantly.

You don’t say anything, nor do anything, you just let him be. You have no idea how you will take him to bed when he falls asleep, or how you will get yourself out of this predicament, but you also don’t mind it very much. Jake’s warm, and most of his weight is not on you. He’s like a weighted heated blanket of some sort.

You can feel his soft breathing on your skin and can only assume that his eyes are closed once more, closer to falling asleep than before, especially now that he’s shielded from the lights. You lay your hand over the shirt and his head and turn back to face the screen just mere feet away from you.

In the space of a few minutes, you notice that Jake’s breathing has become way slower and deeper. He has definitely fallen asleep. You can peek at him a little through the color of your shirt, and you notice that he is indeed asleep.

Your eyes now move to the ceiling, thinking of a way out.

There’s no way you get out from under him without waking him up, and, also, not fall to the floor. If you do want to take him to your actual bed, you might have to drag him if he doesn’t walk. But how would you even begin to take him off the couch? Just push him off? Can you even drag him all the way down the hallway? And how would you even put him in bed?

Jake lets out a deep breath in his sleep, and you peek over at him again. Deep in his peaceful slumber, Jake turns his head on your chest and happily sleeps away. There’s no way you will have the heart to push him off of you.

You bring your hand from under the shirt to play with his hair and notice how his face creates a teeny tiny frown when feeling it at first, but he quickly relaxes right after. With your vacant hand, you are able to reach the remote without much movement, and you turn down the volume to a soft mumble. Not even the sound can’t even disturb the sleeping pilot, now.

As you watch him with a heart full as he sleeps so carelessly and peacefully under your touch, your own eyes begin to grow tired. It might not be a good idea, you know that. You might wake up with the biggest pain in your back and neck, cold from the lack of blankets, and with eyes burning first thing in the morning due to not closing the blinds of the windows next to the television. But you do not care.

And, just like that, you too fall asleep.

I know this was very simple, but I preferred to write something like this instead of a gigantic imagine. Hope you guys liked it <3 Feedback is always appreciated!

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wisteria-cherry · 9 months

Text

forty days and forty nights (day nineteen!)

(it’s funny how what was meant to be a stand-in title is actually the official title, lol.)

(i think i’m too far into the series to change the title now😭)

day five of bakugo being absent from the shop. normally, you’d use the term missing-in-action, but you’d banished the word from your vocabulary because the possibility of it was scarily real.

however, you’d promised mio that you wouldn’t let it distract you. you did indeed get through your shift nice and undistracted. after your shift, though, you found yourself turning right instead of left. you walked and walked before you found yourself in front of dynamight agency. how curious. you were already there, so you might as well go in, you figured. automatic doors made way for you as you entered.

the agency was huge. the lobby itself had remarkably high ceilings and it was all decorated in a modern style, displaying wealth in every way short of gold chandeliers. it’s not at all somewhere you’d imagine bakugo working. you kind of imagined more… destruction. maybe a burn hole in the carpet or a smashed vase.

everyone there, heroes and people in suits and other professional-looking types hurried around, all of them seeming to know exactly where they were going. you wished you felt the same. you looked around, trying to find someone to talk to, before locking eyes on two familiar faces.

“um, kaminari, right?” you walked up to the yellow-haired man, whose back was facing you and had an arm wrapped comfortably around a purple-haired girl’s— jiro, was it?— waist. kaminari turned around, and you instantly relaxed. finally, a familiar face.

“oh, hey, kacchan’s buddy!” kaminari grinned. jiro smiled politely and you smiled back. “have you met my girlfriend? you haven’t, right? this is kyoka, she’s awesome.”

“nice to meet you.” kyoka held out her hand, which you shook.

“likewise.” you replied.

“so, what brings you here?” kaminari asked curiously.

“i’m not sure,” you admitted. “i was kind of wondering if you knew where bakugo was.”

“a mission, or something.” kaminari shrugged. “i’m here to figure it out myself ‘cuz he hasn’t been here in awhile.”

“you visit often?” you ask curiously.

“yup. strictly business.” kaminari nodded solemnly. jiro snickered.

“business, as in, trying to convince him to play mini uno with you?”

“okay, that was one time-“

“or maybe business as in trying to bribe him into saving a cat you found stuck in a tree because you said it would ‘look funny’?”

“again, one time-“

“or business like coming to nap on his couch in his office because ‘his is the comfiest’?”

“…okay, so that was more than one time.”

“it’s never business.” kyoka told you with an used expression as kaminari now pouted. “but we are here pretty often. bakugo’s our friend. we’re a bit worried about him.”

“me too,” you admitted. “i know you went to high school with him, so i’m not exactly as close to him as i’m sure you are, but i do hope he’s okay, wherever he is.”

“so do i.” kyoka sighed.

“it’s so annoying!” kaminari groaned. “only ei and mina know what he’s doing and apparently they’re sworn to secrecy.”

“sworn to secrecy? why would they need to do that?” you inquire. kaminari shrugged.

“probably ‘cuz it’s kacchan. kacchan likes his privacy.” kaminari sighed dramatically. “well, all we know is that he went on a mission and now— poof!— gone.”

“well, let me know if you find out what happened.” you sigh. kaminari smiled and nodded.

“yeah! lemme add you to the bakusquad group chat.” kaminari pulled out his phone, opened it, and handed it to you. “put your number in!”

“okay.” you typed your number quickly and returned it to its owner. kaminari fiddled with it for a moment before smiling contently.

“all done!” he announced.

“i’ll be going, then. thank you, kaminari. and it was nice meeting you, kyoka.” you smiled. kyoka smiled back.

“good seein’ ya, (y/n).” kaminari beamed. “later!”

“later,” you replied before leaving the agency.

once you got outside, you inhaled a deep breath of the crisp october air.

“god, i hope he’s okay.”

“okay, that was one time—“

(don’t forget to comment + give ur thoughts :)

@k0z3me @cherryblossomclarity @jazzafaye5294 @stevenknightmarc @failingstudents-blog

#bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugo #bakugo katsuki #bakugou #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bakugo x reader #bnha #mha #katsuki bakugo oneshot #coffee shop au #pro hero bakugo x reader

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gunilslaugh · 10 months

Note

Hiii! I have been feeling super anxious lately, and xdh has been a huge comfort. Which makes me wonder if you'd be willing/able to write about how the boys would comfort you when you're feeling overwhelmed/panicky?

Thank you for all your works! You got amazing writing skills!

I'm so sorry to hear that :( I hope that you'll start to feel less anxious 💕

All members <(*u*)>

Summary: How Xdinary Heroes react to you being anxious/overwhelmed.

WC:916

Warning:grammar

photo not mine credits to owner.

Gunil

Your anxiousness has been overbearing lately. Despite your best efforts to manage it on your own, Gunil could tell that you were struggling. That’s why he proposed a relaxing movie night. He bought your favorite snacks and drinks. One of your comfort movies/shows was playing on the t.v. Gunil wrapped the two of you up in a fuzzy blanket. One of his arms stayed around your waist, rubbing it soothingly. The other one was resting on his lap as he reassuringly held your hand. He whispered loving words to you in efforts to help you relax and ease your mind. Gunil also made it clear that you could call him wherever you need, it didn’t matter what he was doing he would come running to you. He would support you and help you best that he could.

Jungsu

Currently you were standing in line at a cafe with Jungsu for a date. The line was a bit crowded and it caused you to feel a bit overwhelmed. Stepping closer to Jungsu in an attempt to calm your nerves a bit. Noticing your movement, Jungsu glanced at you and caught sight of you fidgeting with your hands that were faintly shaking. A frown fell upon his face he moved to stand behind you swaddling you with his arms and rested his chin on your head. He felt a bit better when you relaxed in his embrace.

“Are you ok?” He asked you with concern.

“Yeah the crowd is just a bit overwhelming,” you answered him. Once you got your order and walked over to the table, Jungsu pulled his chair next to yours instead of sitting across from you.

“We can go home if you want,” he suggested.

“No, I'm ok now. I’ve just been a bit more anxious than usual,” you explained.

“Can I do anything?” Jungsu asked sincerely.

“You’re already doing great,” you smiled at him.

Gaon/Jiseok

It was your third stay-in date in a row with Jiseok. Not that he minded, he was just happy to spend time with you, wherever it was. However he couldn’t shake the feeling that you were avoiding going outside, so he decided to ask you about it.

“Y/n, is there any reason why you want to stay in lately?” Jiseok carefully asked you. Putting your phone down, you turned to face Jiseok.

“My anxiety has been acting up, so it’s easier to be inside,” you revealed. He swears he felt his heart crack a tiny bit. The first thing he thinks of is to just squish you in a loving hug. He reassures you that you guys can have as many stay-in dates that you need, but whenever you feel ready to have an out-the-house date, he’ll be by your side the entire time.

O.de/Seungmin

He pays a lot of attention to you, so he’s quick to notice that you’ve been acting a bit different lately. When you guys are out you stand one step closer than normal to him. You’re always fidgeting with something, your fingers, rings, bracelet, sleeve, hem of your shirt even. The pair of you were currently at your apartment just hanging out. Seungmin went to the kitchen to get you some drinks. He re-entered your room with two mugs in his hand.

“I read that chamomile tea is good for anxiety,” he said as he handed you a mug.

“How did you know?” you questioned him slightly shocked, but the way your heart melted at his kind gesture overrode it.

“What kind of boyfriend would I be if I couldn’t notice how anxious you’ve been lately,” he voiced. He would spend the rest of the day doing whatever he could to help you feel more at ease.

Junhan/Hyeongjun

Hyeongjun could tell that you were acting a bit more on edge lately. He wanted to help you, but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. At the moment the both of you were on the bus. Heading towards your place after your day out. Hyeonjun noticed that you were imperceptibly shaking. He took out his headphones and put one of them in your ear, playing a playlist of your favorite songs that he created. He also took one of your hands in his and stroked his thumb back and forth. You moved to rest your head on his shoulder, nerves slowly fading away. Even though he never said anything you could tell that he cared and was worried. Because Hyeongjun found a way to make silence say the loudest words. His thoughtful actions expressed his concern along with his comfort.

Jooyeon

Albeit that Jooyeon can actually be quite shy himself when he knows you're feeling anxious he’ll step up. If you’re out at a restaurant he’ll order for you. He’d also cling to you like a koala when you're walking through crowded places to help you feel more secure. If he senses your anxiety getting worse he would immediately take you home. If you tried to convince him that you were fine he would just insist that he was the one who wanted to go home. After arriving back at your home he would drag you to cuddle. Then you would watch videos together on his phone or play a game.You still kinda felt bad for making you guys come back early, but he reassured you that your health was much more important. You were more important than whatever place you traveled to together.

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itsactuallywhitewolf · 2 years

Text

Don't Leave

Spoilers for Stranger Things Season 4 Vol 2

Pairing: Eddie Munson x gn!Reader

Word Count: 1,737

Warnings: Heavy angst, mentions of character death, heartbreak

Summary: You deal with the aftermath of Eddie's death

A/N: This one hurts a lot, my friends. I cried so much writing this, but I somehow had to write it just to deal with everything. Hope you'll like it.

Not proofread so I apologize for any typos

It's been weeks since the incident.

Weeks since you and your friends volunteered to help the victims of the earthquake. It was nice work, you were glad to be of service, lending a hand wherever you could, the occasional smile on people's faces enough to make you feel at ease

It also kept your mind off of Eddie.

Today, however, they gave you the day off, told you to get some rest since you've been helping out day and night.

Dustin watched you worriedly when you practically begged them to let you take the shift. He knew exactly why you were doing it, he understood, but he, too, knew that you should try and come to terms with the terrible events.

You couldn't even get yourself to go to the small funeral the kid held for him.

But no matter how much you tried to avoid it, you knew you'd eventually have to face reality, and with it, the loss of your best friend.

You didn't even get the chance to tell him how you really felt.

Walking the broken streets of Hawkins on your way home was devastating. Seeing the town in its destroyed state, the place you and Eddie grew up in together, every other corner a reminder of another memory you shared.

You kept your gaze to the sidewalk, only looking up when you were crossing the street, a van passing you before you did. But it was then that you suddenly stopped, turning your head to watch the vehicle dissappear behind the next intersection.

It looked like Eddie's van.

Eddie's van, which was probably still parked in the woods near Reefer Rick's. You stared at the empty street in front of you for a moment, thoughts running wild in your head. Would it really still be there? Or did it fall into the rift? But the earth cracked open towards the other direction. So it should be there.

But where you ready to face the imminent truth of Eddie's death?

"I didn't run away this time, right?"

His shaky voice echoed in your head. The very thing you tried so hard to keep off your mind, tried to cover its image, which had burned itself into your brain. Denial had set itself into you since the moment it happened, not letting you believe he wasn't there with you anymore. The pain of it was just too much. You feared accepting it. Feared your heart breaking. But if Eddie didn't run from his fear, then you shouldn't run away from yours either. That much you owed to him.

As soon as you arrived at home you grabbed the keys to your own car, getting in it and driving off to Lover's Lake, the only thought in your head being to collect all of Eddie's belongings before someone decided to throw them all away. Everything else was already gone, you couldn't risk losing anything else of his.

Once you arrived at the lakeside, you ran down the small pathway into the woods, the tire tracks from last time you were here long gone. But you still knew where he parked the van.

And there she was, hidden behind a bush in the shadow, a tree branch fallen on top of it having left a huge dent on the roof of it, probably due to the earthquake, but other than that the car was still in a pretty good condition.

You fumbled with your keys, trembling fingers trying to pick the spare key of the van Eddie gave you when he got the car. He would have never let anyone else drive it, his most priced possession, but he trusted you completely. You remember how he threw you the key, laughing at your confused expression.

God, you missed hearing his laugh.

When you finally found it, you took a deep breath before unlocking the door. The signature smell of weed and cigarettes that came from it already making your eyes swell with tears. Sighing shakily, you get in the car, everything in it making the memories come in immediately. It took everything in you to fight the urge to cry, blinking your eyes to keep the tears at bay.

You picked up a tape that layed on the floor, looking at its cover. It was Black Sabbath's latest album, the gift you gave him for his last birthday.

"Happy Birthday, freak!", you shouted from behind him, holding the wrapped gift right in front of his face. He jumped up a little in his chair, startled by you. The whole cafeteria turned to you, giving you dismissive looks before getting back to whatever they were doing.

"Is that for me?", he asked in surprise, looking at you dumbstruck. "Yeeees! Now open it!", you grinned, scooting Gareth away on the bench so that you could sit down next to your best friend. You waited in anticipation for his reaction while Eddie carefully tried to unwrap the giftpaper. "Just rip it off, will you!"

"Okay, okay, I just don't wanna destroy it, it looks so pretty," he replied, ripping it open now anyways.

When he realized what he was holding his mouth stayed open, staring at the thing in his hand.

"What is it?", Dustin chimed in, curious as to what the gift was.

"Am I really holding Seventh Star by Black Sabbath?", Eddie spoke in excitement, turning the tape so that the others could see it, too. His eyes, however, were fixed on you now, a wide smile on his lips, which made your heart flutter. You nodded, grinning from ear to ear at his reaction.

He immediately stood up, scooping you up in a hug from where you sat on the bench and twirled you around.

"You, Y/N, are an angel!", he exclaimed, putting you back down on the floor before engulfing you into yet another tight hug. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Your heart clenched at the memory, something heavy setting itself into your stomach. You put the tape and all the others laying around on the floor into your backpack, even checking the glovebox so none of them stayed behind. But once you put all the other tapes away, you found an envelope at the bottom of the compartment. You pulled it out, opening it to find a bunch of old polaroids.

Looking through them, you realized they were the pictures from last summer, when you both went on a roadtrip together. Polaroids from street signs, different cities, rock bands that played live in the bars you went to. But most of them were of you both. Eddie driving the van. You sitting in a diner booth with a milkshake, shaky pics of you together pulling silly faces.

The tears ran down your face now as you went through the polaroids, your breath hitching shortly when you stumbled across a picture you haven't seen before.

You and Eddie sat next to each other, an order of fries and burgers in front of you on a table. You had a huge smile on your face, eyes scrunched closed, while Eddie kissed your cheek, his arm around your shoulder. You remember the waitress taking the picture, but you don't remember ever seeing it.

And now that you did, you started sobbing.

You were happy then, Eddie was too. You just arrived back in Hawkins after your trip, both glad that you were able to spend the summer together in such a memorable way. And even though summer break was about to end and fall was gonna come, you were the most happy you ever had been. Excited for what was to come next, knowing that whatever happened, Eddie and you would stick together.

You both promised that day you would never leave each other.

It all feels like a fever dream now.

With burning cheeks and hiccups you turned to the back of the van, climbing over the seat and laying down on the old blankets that he had put there, the small effort of making something comfortable to lay on the last time you both were watching the stars at Lover's Lake.

They still smelled like him.

You pulled the blankets up to your nose, inhaling his scent, the lingering notes of tobacco and leather, and something that was entirely his own. You tried to muffle your sobs, your body shaking from it. You held the polaroid tightly against your chest, hoping somehow it would ease the pain of your aching heart.

"You see that bright one up there?", he pointed his fingers towards a star. You shifted closer to him, laying your head on his chest so that you could see it.

"Yeah, what about it?"

He was silent for a minute then. You waited patiently, turning your head towards him when nothing came. He was already looking at you, a little smile on his lips. It seemed like he was gonna say something, but then brushed it off and instead said:"I just think it looks really pretty."

Slowly you pulled the blanket back down, pulling out the polaroid from beneath it to take another look at it. You really wished you could go back to that time.

When you turned it, you saw his scribbly handwriting on the back.

I love you. I wish I could tell you.

It all came at once then.

The ache in your chest became unbearable, tears blinding your vision, the note becoming nothing but blurry lines. Raw sobs leaving your throat, eyes getting puffy and cheeks burning. It hurt. It hurt too much. The realness of everything suffocating you, its pain tearing you in half.

He was gone. He was gone and you couldn't bring him back. He was never able to clear his name, wasn't able to finally graduate. He could never make his dreams come true, could never leave this shit town that never cared about him. He couldn't plan another campaign for Hellfire, couldn't hug his uncle, couldn't fool around with Dustin, couldn't watch the stars with you anymore. He couldn't tell you he loved you.

He was gone and you were here.

You were here, and wouldn't be able to ever hold him again, wouldn't be able to hear him playing guitar again, wouldn't be able to braid his hair again.

He left you here, and took your heart with him.

"Promise me. Promise me you'll never leave me."

"I won't leave. I promise."

#eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson angst #joe quinn #joseph quinn #stranger things #stranger things spoilers #stranger things season 4 vol 2 #stranger things season 4 #spoilers #spoiler

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alxirai · 6 months

Text

I had never felt so alive before, my heart pounding in my chest as I took my first steps into the land of Teyvat. Every inch of me felt like it was bursting with excitement and wonder. I had come to this land with a goal in mind, to find my long-lost twin and figure out what happened to them.

As I walked through the lush, green landscapes, I suddenly heard a voice calling my name. I turned around to see a tall, handsome man with long, flowing hair and piercing amber eyes. "Are you the traveler?" he asked, his voice low and soothing.

I nodded, not knowing what to say. He reached out his hand and I took it, allowing him to lead me to a small cottage in the distance. "My name is Aether," he said, his voice full of warmth. "It's nice to finally meet another person from another world in Teyvat."

I couldn't believe my luck. I had been searching high and low for any clues as to where my twin had gone, and now here was a person who looked just like me, and who seemed to be in the same boat.

"May I ask you something?" I finally found the courage to ask. "Do you know anything about the other sibling?"

He looked away, his face unreadable. "I don't know for sure. But I have a feeling that they've been taken advantage of by a group of powerful people in this world. They must be in a lot of danger."

My heart dropped at the thought of my twin being in trouble, but I knew that Aether was right. Whoever was behind all of this must be stopped at all costs.

"We have to find them," I whispered, my voice full of determination. "We have to stop them from hurting anyone else."

Aether looked up at me, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I agree. But we can't do it alone. We need to find allies in this wild world. Are you ready?"

I smiled, feeling a rush of adrenaline as I nodded my head. "Let's do this." Aether and I travelled throughout Teyvat, gathering allies wherever we could. We met all kinds of people, from powerful warriors like Noelle and Amber, to wise scholars like Lisa and Kaeya. Each of them played their own unique role in our quest to uncover the truth about my twin, and each one brought their own special skills and knowledge to the group.

But as much as I enjoyed the company of my new friends, I couldn't shake the feeling that Aether was holding something back from me. There was a sense of tension in the air around him, and no matter how hard I tried to get him to open up to me, he would always brush off my questions with a vague response or a change of subject.

Finally, one evening as we sat around a fire, I decided to confront him. "Aether, what's really going on?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "Why won't you talk to me?"

At last, he looked at me with those piercing amber eyes, and for the first time, I saw a hint of sadness beneath his veneer of calmness. "I'm sorry, I know it must be hard for you. But there are certain things that I'm just not ready to share yet. I promise, I'll tell you everything in due time, but for now, I need your trust."

I felt a pang of disappointment in my chest, but I knew that he was right. Aether had been with me through everything, and if there was anyone in this world that I could trust, it was him.

So we continued our journey, my curiosity piqued by the mystery surrounding my twin and the powers we held within us. Together, with our motley crew of allies, we tackled any challenge that came our way, from battling huge monsters to solving complex puzzles. And through it all, our bond only grew stronger, as we worked towards the same goal of discovering the truth behind my lost twin's disappearance.

But even as the days passed and our adventures grew more and more exciting, I couldn't help but wonder what secrets Aether was keeping from me. And so, I resigned myself to the fact that some things were just meant to remain mysteries, at least for now.

As time went on, our friendship with Aether only grew stronger. He was everything I had ever wanted in a companion: strong, brave, and kind. And with each passing day, I found myself falling more and more in love with him.

Of course, I didn't want to ruin our friendship or make things awkward between us. So, I kept my feelings to myself, instead choosing to focus on our quest and our growing connection.

As we travelled throughout the lands of Teyvat, we faced all sorts of challenges and overcame great obstacles. With each victory, our bond deepened, and I found myself falling more and more in love with Aether.

I knew that I had to tell him how I felt, but I didn't know how. I was scared that I would put too much pressure on him or scare him away. But I knew that I couldn't keep my feelings a secret for much longer.

And so, one night as we sat by the campfire, I gathered up all my courage and professed my feelings to Aether. To my surprise, he didn't recoil in horror or back away from me. Instead, he looked at me with those warm amber eyes and smiled.

"I feel the same way, Traveler," He said softly, taking my hand in his. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you, but I didn't know how. But you just made it so much easier for me."

And with that, we sealed our fate, starting a new chapter in our lives as partners, both in our quest for knowledge and in our growing love.

From that day forward, Aether was always by my side, through thick and thin. Our love only grew stronger with each passing day, and we knew that we were meant to be together, no matter what.

As we continued to explore the vast world of Teyvat, we faced many more dangers and challenges. But with Aether by my side, I knew that we could face anything that came our way, and come out the other side stronger then ever before.

And so, we continued on, hand in hand, as partners in life and in love, ready to face whatever the world might throw at us.

Hello, I don't know what I did. Haha it's like they switched roles but also not..? Idk😥

Enjoy this mess that I made.

#genshin imagines #genshin impact #reader insert #drabble #fluff genshin #genshin drabbles #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #gn reader #ooc #aether x reader #genshin aether #alxirai

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stray-kaz · 2 years

Text

A Better Distraction : a Jesper Fahey x reader FF : One

A/N: Characters aged up to about 21, sort of like in the show.

The first time Jesper saw you, you were crowded against a dingy wall by a crew of Dime Lions, heavily ringed fingers reaching out to stroke soft Kaelish hair. Your stance was defiant, but your eyes spoke fear. He had left the Crow Club in search of a better distraction than Makker’s Wheel or cards, and it seemed he had found one. He flicked the edge of his coat out of the way and slid his fingers gently around the pearly handle of one of his revolvers.

“Oi, kitty cats!” he called out to the thugs. “Pick on someone your own size, yeah?”

Your eyes flashed up to his, over the burly shoulders of the men now turning as one to face him. He could see that you doubted him; after all, there were several of them and they were all huge, and he was tall but lanky. But you hadn’t seen him shoot.

“Zemeni” one of them said in disgust, and spat to the side. “Run back to Dirtyhands like the dog you are, right?”

Jesper sighed.

“Get better insults, you mug” he replied.

The same man took a threatening step in his direction, but with a tiny pull of his index, Jesper sent a bullet spinning past the side of his head, scraping a painful path across his ear. He howled and blood spread down to soak into his collar.

“I warned you” Jesper said, tilting his head to one side and sending you a fast wink. “Pick on someone your own size. Now you run off to Pekka Rollins with your tails between your legs. Go on.”

When nobody moved, he feinted at them and they ran, wits scattered. Jesper then turned back to face you with a smile. He held out his hand and pulled you away from the wall, briefly scanning you up and down for any obvious injuries. You wore boys’ soft pants and peasant shirt, but he could tell there was nothing male about you at all.

“Did they hurt you?” he asked, letting go of your hand.

You shook your head.

“No, just stole a ring” you replied quietly, staring down at the empty space on your right ring finger.

“Well, better a ring than something a little more permanent” Jesper said, a little too breezily judging by the look on your face. “Look, little lady, do you have somewhere you can go? Is there anywhere I can walk you to? You shouldn’t be out here alone, but I reckon you’ve already figured that out.”

You bit your lip and slowly shook your head. He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment before seemingly making a decision and reopening them.

“Okay, come with me” he said, jerking his head in the direction of the alley mouth.

You hesitated, already knowing that you had no option except trusting him.

“All right.”

He talked the whole way to wherever he was taking you, but you were content to listen and not be expected to say anything much in turn. Finally, you arrived at a tall skinny building that appeared to be propping up its counterparts on either side. It was painted black as pitch and a nervous thrill raced up your spine at the sight.

“What is that?” you asked, eyebrows arched.

“That is the Slat” Jesper replied proudly. “That is home. Come on. I’ll have to get you past Kaz.”

“Who’s Kaz?” you asked as you followed him inside.

“I am.”

A pale, dark haired young man rose from his seat, leaning on a crow’s head cane. His voice was rough and sounded hewn from stone. He stared at you with dark, unblinking eyes, as did the ragtag group sitting around his table.

“Jesper, what is this?”

You bristled at being labelled a ‘what’, but Jesper put a quelling hand on your shoulder, sensing your disquiet, and you stilled and said nothing.

“I found her about to become fodder for the Dime Lions” he explained. “They would have eaten her alive, Kaz. Or worse. She just needs a place to hunker down for a bit.”

Kaz shook his head, shark’s eyes narrowing.

“I don’t do charity” he said coolly.

Jesper glanced at you, saw the teeth digging into your bottom lip and the nervous flush in your cheeks. He knew he shouldn’t do this, but he was gonna anyway.

“Please, Kaz” he said, his voice low and soft. “Call it a favour.”

Kaz rolled his eyes, flicked his head towards the stairs and waved a black gloved hand at you.

“Fine. She can bunk with you. I don’t have any spares at present.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t make me regret it. Keep her quiet.”

Jesper stifled the urge to roll his eyes and lightly pushed you over to the stairs, his hands cupping the sides of your waist. He leaned forward to reach your ear.

“Don’t argue” he said softly. “His bite is a lot worse than his bark.”

You relaxed tense shoulders and allowed Jesper to guide you up several flights of stairs and along a dark hallway to his room, which was, thankfully, clean and quite tidy. The bed was neatly made and a wash basin stood over near the freestanding wardrobe.

“I have business to attend to” Jesper told you, turning back for the door. “You can have the bed.”

You turned quickly before he could walk out and caught his hand, holding on at the fingertips.

“Why are you sticking your neck out for me like this?” you asked.

He looked down into your wide honest eyes and shook his head.

“No idea” he said, and walked out.

You watched his back until he vanished and then walked across the room to sit down on the edge of the bed, wondering what your life had become.

#jesper fahey x reader #jesper fahey #shadow & bone #fanfic #liss writes #jesper x reader

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womanofwords · 1 year

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Daddy’s Baby Boy (Villain’s POV)

Hero’s POV

CW: platonic yandere caretaker hero, whumpee villain, whumper supervillain, abduction, broken bones, infantilisation, Stockholm syndrome.

I woke up in searing pain. Everything hurt. My vision slowly came into focus, not that it helped clear anything up. I had never been here before. Wherever this was, this wasn’t my apartment.

It was far too nice.

The first thing I noticed was how . . . soft the room felt and was. For starters, I was on a hopelessly soft bed, surrounded by plush animals that I definitely didn’t own. The colours were warm and pale, baby blue walls with a white wardrobe and soft pink bedsheets. It was more like a nursery than a dungeon.

“Oh, Villain! I hope you’re awake, sweetie,” Hero cooed, bounding into the room like his name was Mary Poppins. I stared at him as he scooped me up in his arms and . . . smothered me in kisses? What was going on? “My darling precious, did you have a good sleep?”

I tried to speak, ask him what was going on, but Hero got a bottle and shoved it into my mouth. “Liquid diet for you, love. You got very hurt by Supervillain. Your jaw was punched really hard. How could you have ever gone into such a dangerous career?”

Then I started remembering bits of what I had been doing before Hero grabbed me. Supervillain was angry with me again, and she had doled out a really bad punishment this time. She had retired the whips that she normally used and beat me with chains until I couldn’t move. I had felt someone moving me, but I’d thought Supervillain had sent for someone to drag me back for more punishing. I didn’t think that a deranged hero had kidnapped me to have as a surrogate baby. Nobody thinks that.

“Whaa . . . ‘appe-” It was difficult to speak around the bottle. Some of the formula (if it could even be called formula) leaked out of my mouth, and Hero wiped it away.

“I found you on the floor of one of their dungeons. You were so hurt,” Hero replied, smoothing down my hair. That would not be easy; it hadn’t been brushed in a while and it had become matted. “But it’s OK, I have you now. You are going to spend the rest of your life being Daddy’s baby boy, and Daddy will protect you from bad people forever.”

“Daddy?” I freaked out. Who the hell would want to be a ‘daddy’ to a grown man? I didn’t realize the Hero’s League had forgotten to screen for maniacs.

“Sweetie, try not to move. You got hurt, OK?” Annoyingly, Hero was right; someone had put a cast on my leg and wrapped me in bandages. “And now Daddy needs to look after you fully. Your baths, your clothes, your food, everything. Daddy will love you to pieces.”

This was a nightmare. Hero couldn’t be seeing me without clothes! I had to maintain my dignity, and that involved keeping some space between myself and Hero. He was so creepy, staring at me with those huge, unhinged eyes and that giant smile. Hero walked towards me and sighed sadly.

“I understand, precious. I truly do. You’re scared of me because you don’t know what I’ll do to you.” Hero sighed and held my face so I looked him in the eyes. “But that isn’t going to happen, Villain. I have been watching you for some time, and I know that you won’t be taken care of properly if anyone else is trusted to take care of you. And because I love you so much, I will be looking after you. You will not need to worry about a single thing, and with time, you will call me Daddy, and I will call you my baby boy.”

“What?!” This was getting creepier and creepier. How was Hero going to expect me to call him Daddy? That was creepy as hell and just sounded dirty!

“It’s OK, precious, don’t be frightened, shh.” Hero was snuggling me nice and tight, and there was nothing I could do about it. “Nobody will ever hurt you again, understand? Hush, my love.”

“But Supervillain-”

“Is dead,” Hero interrupted. “You won’t be worrying about that any more. You just rest and focus on getting better.”

When I heard that, I sat in the strange new bed with my mouth hanging open. Supervillain was dead. How? Had Hero done it or had he just found her dead? Does this mean a deranged murderer had kidnapped me for his own fantasies of parenthood? Hero frantically rushed to soothe me, like I was a real baby.

“Sweetie, don’t be upset! I know you must have been really sad about your job going away, but this is for the best. Your daddy can look after you forever now, with no interruptions!” Hero scooped me up and snuggled next to me.

“You’re not my daddy!” I yelled.

“I am now. You’re adopted into my family, baby boo,” Hero cooed. “You’re just not used to having a daddy in your life. Well, that can change. You can practice calling me Daddy right now.”

“Hero, no!” I yelled. I yelled some other things too, but he didn’t care. He just waited until I was exhausted. He wrapped me in a blanket and rocked me to sleep.

“You’re going to love your daddy eventually,” he whispered.

_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

From that moment on, all of my days went the same. I would be woken up by Hero (still calling himself my daddy) for breakfast which would be fed to me in a bottle in bed. After that, I was bathed and my hair was slowly brushed. Hero loved making my hair all fluffy and soft, buying an exorbitant amount of hairbrushes for the task.

After the bath, my bandages were changed and I would be fed lunch by Hero, which was mostly various soups, because I couldn’t chew for quite some time. I would be put to bed for a nap and woken up later for physical therapy so I could move properly without pain. Part of that included massages, where scented oils and moisturisers were rubbed into my skin. Hero enjoyed being able to touch me, and I didn’t stop him because it felt like l was in heaven from the way the hands rubbed and kneaded.

The end of the day for us consisted of dinner in front of the TV as we watched a movie, before being placed into soft footed onesie pyjamas. I would be put to bed yet again, and Hero would climb into bed with me and hold me with a scarily strong grip.

Eventually, I became OK with all of it. This was safer than any place I’d ever lived in before. Hero had had many chances to hurt me, but hadn’t taken any of them. And the foods were actually filling and nutritious, unlike the greasy slop I’d been eating before. I’m not going to lie, I did miss chewing but my daddy promised me that when I was well enough, I could have solid foods to eat. Life was just better with Hero, or as I now called him, Daddy.

Admittedly, it wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Hero only responded to Daddy, so that was what I called him. Soon, I called Hero Daddy whenever I spoke to him.

“Daddy, I need my bandages changed.”

“Daddy, I’m hungry.”

“Daddy, I’m cold.”

“Daddy, it stings.”

It even got inside my thoughts.

I wonder what movie Daddy and I will be watching together.

I wonder if Daddy will bring the nice oil to rub me with.

I hope Daddy won’t pull at my hair when he brushes it.

Maybe Daddy will let me have solid food today.

Daddy loved looking after me. I would hear him humming as he brushed my hair, as he rubbed oils into my skin, as he prepared a smoothie for my breakfast.

In fact, Daddy didn’t seem to want me to leave. My room was painted in my favourite colour once Daddy knew what it was, and he even found several of my things from my old apartment. “I can’t let you go, honey,” Daddy smiled. “You’re far too sweet and innocent; you’ll get hurt again. Besides, you are my baby boy, and I can’t let you leave to a place that I know is unsafe. You are going to need a lot of looking after.” And then I got scooped up by Daddy and he kept me in his arms for the whole day. It felt so good.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Daddy would scoop me up and carry me places. Daddy didn’t like the walking therapy, because it stopped him from carrying me all the time, but he did it for me. I was carried whenever I looked tired, whenever I was cranky, anything so Daddy could ‘relieve me of the burden of walking’.

“Does my baby boy need anything else?” Daddy would ask, smiling. He always smiled, except for when I had physical therapy to do. Daddy didn’t like it when I had to walk for physical therapy, and was incensed when he was told that, for my benefit, I would have to walk for at least an hour every day, but he did it for me because he loves me so much.

For our new daily walk, Daddy took me to the safest places, keeping an eye on me so I wouldn’t stumble and hurt myself. It became our routine, and Daddy would congratulate me for doing so well with my walking. Even when I wasn’t doing very well at walking (sometimes, my legs would become weak and I would be unable to walk), Daddy would still be so nice to me, with kisses and bed rest and everything I would need.

I love my daddy so much.

And I know that my daddy loves me.

#creative writing #my writing #writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writeblr #writerscommunity #whumpee x caretaker #infantilisation #tw abduction #tw stockholm syndrome #yandere #platonic yandere #yandere caretaker #caretaker hero #whumpee villain

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sweetmoonstorm · 10 months

Text

Light x Half Bengali Half Arabi Fem! Reader - Oneshot

Requested by @sanmiah ~

There was quite a bit to the request, but that's fine!

Reader has she/her pronouns in this oneshot. Also, I've chosen to do a Hijabi reader for this bc representation yum- And also, I'm so sorry if I get something wrong about Muslims, I am not a muslim myself. Also I am aware about certain rules surrounding dating, and such this oneshot will be when you first meet.

(y/n's pov)

Early in the morning, the sun barely noticeable, and the door shut. Boxes were in the room, waiting to be organized in order to their correct places. A pair of feet land on the floor.

Half after, throw on the hijab. Make sure you're covered well. Face Mecca, and say your prayer.

"y/n!" Your father called, knocking thrice on the door. "Remember to unpack your things!" A bit after, footsteps, going away and down the stairs.

A thud. Looking back, you see your Quran* has fallen over.You go over to adjust it right, making sure no damage has been done. Everything is just fine.

Great!

Now, all there was left to do was to have a great day today! Sure, it may be a bit harder since you just moved to Japan, but why would that matter? There wasn't anything wrong with you or your family, so surely everything would be fine! You knew it!

---

Time skip galore-

With all you needed, you stepped out of the house, waving goodbye to your parents. "Bye Mother, bye Father!" You smiled, going down the steps with a smile on your face.

It was rather hot that day, but that was no excuse to go against Muslim rules! You'd just push through the day, and make sure it was great at that!

Your parents said their goodbyes to you, then the door shut. Down the sidewalk you went, walking over to school. It was just about two blocks down, so there was no problem with that.

As you approached the school, you saw other students coming in and out of it, all going about their way to wherever they were headed. After a minute, you went into the building.

....

It was.. certainly something!

There were huge amounts of people going around and about the school, having many different clothing styles and hair types and such! Not many others wore hijabs, but you were able to spot a few. No worries!

The bell went off.

The teachers didnt seem concerned, so that must've been the warning bell. Best to get to class then! Couldn't risk being late!

Then, when you got to the classroom, many of your new peers gave you somewhat strange looks, but you didn't mind. Perhaps they were curious. Yea!

Just as you were walking into the classroom, the teacher made you introduce yourself to the entirety of the class. Here's how it went.

"Hello everyone! I am y/n, the new student at this school, and it's a pleasure to meet you! I hope I can get to know you all better during this school year!"

You smiled, then went to your assigned seat. Your deskmate was a guy with light brown hair and eyes with the same color, but darker. He seemed rather tired, and he kept writing in some notebook.

"Hi!" You tried to start a conversation, smiling at him.

At first it seemed as if he wouldn't respond to you, but he did.

"Hello, y/n. Nice to meet you." He replied, his face staying the same. Most of his attention was on the black book he held in his hands, titled "Death Note." What a sad name to give a lovely book.

The two of you sat in silence, while you silently plotted to make a new pal.

"Ah, um, what's your name?" You asked him, keeping your gaze on his face. "And is the book you're reading interesting?"

Yes, while a book titled 'Death Note' wasn't exactly what you'd expecte for someone to be reading on the first day of school, there wasn't anything wrong with enjoying a nice book, was there?

"Light Yagami." The guy responded, rubbing his temples with exhaustion. He seemed.... very tired, with slight eyebags.

"Are you ok, Light?" You cocked your head, looking at him with your (e/c) eyes. He turned to look at you, and paused.

Your eyes were..... common, yet unique. Perhaps like a shining jewel, unaware of all dangers in this world. A young girl who wanted nothing but peace, and a good life. And he was right.

"I'm.. quite alright, thanks." Light responded, giving you a half-hearted smile.

"Now class, focus. It's time for your lesson." The teacher interrupted you and Light's conversation.

Light stole another, final quick glance at you and your jewel-like eyes before looking at his book.

---

(!TW! THERE IS (SEMI DETAILED)DEATH IN THE SCENE BELOW!)

In all honesty, he'd been planning to write you into the book.

Your full name, written in a night-black ink bold across a page of the Death Note, with a simple death.

But when he met you, you....

you'd made him think otherwise.

You were just... so different.

With those eyes that shone, and that cheery smile, you hadn't cared for the way others had stared at you when you talked to him.

You hadn't cared for his reputation, or if he was unsafe.

You... You were one of the ones that deserved to be in the perfect world that would soon come.

From behind a wall, Light took a glance at you, unaware of what had happened behind you.

A body, sprawled on the road, it's fingers twitched once before the life left it, laying on the ground in silence.

You went home, unknowing of what Light had done.

Light, on the other hand, had swore to keep you away from the injustice of the world.

Always.

---

(Thanks for reading!! And thanks for the request!! :33

Allow me to add, a lovely person reblogged this and advised I change 'Bible' to 'Quran', so I apologize for that mistake!

*Quran = A big part of the Muslim religion. According to Islamic Belief/Religion, it's a transcript of God's speech. Perhaps the Muslim equivalent of a Bible.

(I don't do religion that much, and again, I apologize for the mistake with the bible instead of quran.)

#oneshot #first meeting #light yagami #death note #death note one shot #light yagami x reader #light yagami x y/n #light yagami x you

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thecandywrites · 2 months

Text

Monster March 2024- Day 10- Fae

The Lion and The Lamb- Continued!

This was such a fun prompt last year, I just had to continue it, at least for a little bit. Here was Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

As always, huge thanks to @borealwrites for their Monster March 2024 Prompt List.

Monster March 2024- Day 10- Fae

The Lion and The Lamb Continued.

Jiah walked to the otherside of the portal to see a series of skyships on the other side.

“Whose ship is this?” Jiah asked as she appreciated the quaint yet comfortable size of the ship.

“Mine, do you like it?” He asked hopefully.

“Very much so. Is this your home?” She asked as she appreciated the rather cozy, homey feel of it.

“Yes, in a manner of speaking.” He nodded.

“It’s wonderful. A home that travels with you wherever you want to go.” She smiled.

“So, we have a week before the wedding, what do we need to do first?” She asked.

“Well first, I want to introduce you to my other friends,” he began as he put his packs down in the main cabin before he went to the help to start the ship up to steer it towards Suchi.

“And family?” You hoped as you did the same, putting your bag down on the floor before you sat down and appreciated, both the view, and the ship as a whole.

“That can definitely be arranged.” He smiled happily as the sail soon billowed out and began to pull the light from the sun to charge the power that fueled the vessel.

“Hang on.” He playfully warned before Jiah did as he instructed before the vessel began to sail in the sky, catching the winds to sail with them.

“Would you like to learn how to sail?” He asked her after few moments.

“Sure.” She readily agreed before he walked her through the finer points of sailing the 12 winds and how the ship worked and how such a heavy object could sail in the winds as if they were the currents in the seas before he flew them to Suchi to meet his family.

“Sam! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the Fae realm to be with Ruviem?” His mother greeted as she was happy to see her son return home so soon.

“I’m already back.” He beamed.

“And, you brought a friend I see?” She grinned.

“Hi, I’m Jaeline Canae, friends call me Jiah.” She offered sweetly.

“Well it’s wonderful to meet you Jiah, I’m Sam’s mom, Hannah. And this is….” She began to list off the different kids both in and out of the house as she held Sam’s littlest sister on her hip before Sam took Ciene out of his mother’s arms so she could go back inside and continue cooking as she sent other kids out to get more ingredients from the market before Jiah tried to help any way she could.

Jiah was always so happy in the colonies. They were always so intimate and informal and warm and inviting as she was happy to get one of Sam’s other little sisters and help comb and braid her hair.

“Are you fae?” Milla asked.

“I am. Is it that obvious?” Jiah asked.

“I don’t think so. But because my daddy is Fae too, it’s like when I look at you. I’m with…like a cousin or something, like you’re family but…not?” She tried to say.

“You know how moura have a way of knowing if another is moura?” Jiah prompted.

“With the Lira light touch.” She nodded.

“Well fae do too. Only- it’s just something we see and something we understand. Instead of being something you touch and feel, it’s just something we see. And then it’s something we feel. You are a child of two worlds. It means you can pass from one to the other. You can eat fae food and this realms food without getting sick. You can even eat sunshine in a way which is so awesome. But the only thing is, you have to remember that just like there are rules here in the colonies? Rules of behavior? Rules of being a good, and polite person? Well there are rules in the fae realm too. And just like the rules here, are from a lot of different cultures of a lot of different kinds. To the fae, there are still some blending there too. But it’s a bit harder to adapt to the changes there than it is here.” You offered.

“Teach me.” She invited.

“Ok, well, how you say hello, is…” Jiah began as she explained how the children would need to behave when they would assuredly when they would visit her and Sam in the fae realm as she relieved and delighted when he didn’t seem he cared for his new title as a Duke to his family. If anything he seemed eager to talk about anything but. Which, you knew Sam was most likely just being modest, and not particularly wanting to discuss how Ruviem’s first day as King Consort was to imprison people in the dungeon for sabotage.

“Hey, it still wasn’t your fault.” Jiah whispered as she carried his little sister to bed as he carried two brothers, one on each shoulder up his parent’s stairs to their rooms after dinner as she noticed he seemed unusually quiet and somber after dinner.

“I know.” He offered.

“Then why are you so quiet and so somber?” You asked.

“You spoke all evening about how they should behave when they visit you in the palace. And I…I…I would never want them to visit the fae realm if they’re going to get the welcome I have gotten there. Even at the last moments when I was supposed to be someone.” He murmured.

“Sam.” Jiah sighed.

“Ruviem and Amber’s reign- is by our memory- only a day old. They were dealing with sabotage to the Crown., before they could even accept the monarchy, to begin with. Something that is unforgivable and something that will not be tolerated. Not now, not ever. Under their monarchy, the disrespect you and the others have had to endure will not be felt by anyone else. Do you want to know how and why I know that?” Jiah offered.

“How? Have you already used your pin in time to see it?” He asked.

“No, I don’t need to. All I have needed to know, is Amber, Ruviem, myself and you.” Jiah grinned smuggly as she set Milla into bed and tucked her in, kissing her sweetly.

“How do you figure?” He asked once you left the room and continued on your walk up the stairs to the roof where his ship was parked above the house as you both flew up the ship to rest for the night.

“Have you ever noticed a lion’s paw?” You prompted once you got on board and slipped into his room where you both knew you’d be spending the most of your time together anyway.

“What about it?” He asked as he slipped his boots off and then his trousers before slipping off even his tunic.

“Have you ever noticed how a lion can walk, without it’s claws ever touching the ground? But are only deployed when needed? That the paw itself has several components. You have the strong framework that the bone as a base provides. You have muscle and tendon to give said structure movement, and power. You even have the pads for the paw and toes, provides cushion. The claws to serve as weapons and tools. But - all of it, surrounded in soft, velvety fur?” You prompted as you slipped out of your traveling clothes and slipped on a short nightgown before you got in bed beside him.

“Yeah.” He nodded.

“Claws- when used all the time-out all the time, grow dull and useless. But a paw without it’s claws, is no different than any other kind of hand. And is- if anything, missing what makes paws, like our own hands- effective. Amber is the strong bone, the structure. Ruviem? He is the power, he allows Amber to move as she will. You, are like the soft fur surrounding it all.” Jiah said as she twirled bits of his chest hair around her finger. “And you are the claws? The tools and weapons?” He guessed.

“Yup. But none of it can work, unless it’s all together. But no one underestimates a lion’s power, based on how soft the fur is. No one, underestimates how powerful a lion is- when it’s just waking up for the day. No one- in their right mind, assumes that the lion doesn’t have claws, capable of either great harm, or great protection. Right now, those that sought to disrespect you, underestimate you, or tried to intimidate you- are being made into examples for the entire fae realm. From now on- no one will dare look down on you or anyone else who is like you. So, when we are ready to go back, know that while there will be work to do. It will be worth doing. Because your siblings, and all other hybrids, deserve to be welcome there, as much as I or any other born into that realm and this one. You are the son of two worlds and you and all others like you, should be free and welcome to walk in both, as much or as little as you would like to. A space was made for you because you are worthy of said space. It only feels odd now, because it’s new. But, I promise you, it will be worth it.” Jiah promised before she kissed him soundly.

#Monster March 2024 #Monster March 2024 Day 10- Fae #The Lion and The Lamb #Continued!

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notyetneedcoffee · 2 years

Text

Kicking Up Dust - Part 2

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: None in this chapter. Slow burn to NSFW

A/N: Takes place after ‘Falcon and the Winter Soldier’ with one major exception - Steve Rogers is not dead. He stepped down. This is in line with my Crossroads story. There will also be a parallel Steve story coming.

Part 1 here.

TWO

The sound of a motorcycle on the gravel drive pulled you from the cabinet you were inspecting. Looking through the open window, you had a clear view of Bucky Barnes swinging a leg over his bike and unzipping his jacket. He only had a backpack tied to the seat. The man traveled light.

He walked up the steps, noting that all the windows were wide open. “Hello?”

“In here!” You called.

He slowly moved inside, unsure what to expect. The musty odor of an interior too long neglected was not quite covered by the smell of fresh cleaning solutions. The reception hall rose two stories, with a grand staircase. A runner carpet looked drab and worn, but the wood wasn’t in bad shape.

“In the sitting room.” You spoke up again.

Bucky followed your voice to a room easily the size of his whole apartment. A wood writing desk and chair sat in front of one window. Many glass front bookcases held a whole library. One wall was dominated by a stone fireplace with decorative iron grates. A large area of the floor showed the discoloration of being covered by a carpet for years.

You sat on a wood chair in front of an open storage cabinet. Small boxes and stack of papers were spread out around you.

“Hey.” He set his backpack on the floor and removed his jacket.

“Hi,” you smiled. “Glad you could make it.” He just nodded, looking uncomfortable. You stood up. “Um, let me show you around.”

“Sure.” Bucky rubbed the back of his neck. “I, ah, I read the email you sent. It’s good to know something of what happened to my sister.”

The email included an overview of what you’d uncovered so far; when she got married, the fact she had a son, but he died in Vietnam, how her and her husband ran a small plant nursery on their property, and that she died at 72 from breast cancer. You guessed, the house was boarded up just before her husband died several years later.

“So, I hired exterminators and a cleaning company to come in and deal with the worst of it. Some of the furniture had vermin, like the sofas that had been in here, so I had anything that was too damaged moved out to the barn. The frames are still good, so someone may want to restore them. I found her journals in among the books. There’s a whole shelf of them over there. The bookcases were shut up tight, so everything in them are in good shape.”

His gaze followed where you pointed. You watched his brows pull together, but he didn’t approach the shelf.

“Come on, I’ll show you the rest of the house.”

You led him through the ground floor which included a more formal sitting room, the dining room, kitchen, a bathroom, a butler’s pantry, a utility room, a boot room, and rear breakfast room with huge windows.

“The cellar is finished, but it was primarily storage. I just made sure it’s been cleared of critters, but there’s tons of boxes and stuff down there.” You started up the stairs. “Up here there’s six bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. All the mattresses had to be tossed out. I order two new ones and put them in the two rooms that are in the best shape. They’re smaller rooms, here to the right. The master bedroom has a Juliet balcony which flooded and leaked into the room, so it wasn’t in very good shape.”

“Wherever you put me is fi-.” Bucky’s words trailed off. He froze, eyes locked on the portraits on the wall at the top of the stairs. You stepped aside, watching him carefully. Slowly he moved to a faded photo taken some time in the late sixties. His sister had the same blue eyes and dark hair. His jaw muscles clenched.

“She was beautiful.” You said quietly.

“Always had to beat the boys off.” His voice was thick. Bucky’s eyes moved to a photo of her and her husband, a few years later in their life. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “She looks like Ma.”

“You want me to leave you alone for bit?”

He stared at the picture in silence so long that you nearly left. Then he shook his head. “No. Stay. Please.”

“This one is you, right?” A little further down the hall was a framed picture of him in uniform. It was not his service picture. His hat sat at a slight angle and a flirtatious smile lit his face. He looked really attractive.

“Yeah, whole other life.” He sighed. “I think that was right before I left Brooklyn.”

Next to his picture was one of another soldier. This man was serious, and in a properly presented Army uniform. The name tag said ‘J. Peterson’.

“Their son.” You said. “She refers to him in her journals as ‘Jimmy’.”

Bucky bit down on the corner of his lip, nodding.

“Near as I can figure, he would have been 22 or 23 years old when he died.”

He frowned hard.

“Too young.” You sighed.

“They always are.” He closed his eyes for a moment then looked back at you. “Let’s finish the tour.”

“Okay.”

The stoic man with the hard stare in front of you seemed impossibly far from the smiling flirt in the old photograph or the teasing big brother in Rebecca’s writing. You really hoped that person still existed somewhere, a bit surprised at your deep yearning to see him smile.

“These stairs lead to the attic level. The worst damage is up there. Thankfully, they didn’t store much up there. The west side of attic level has four small bedrooms and one bathroom. The other side is all partially finished storage. There’s were a few steamer trunks up there. I had them move to the basement with the rest of the storage stuff.”

“So there’s nothing up there.”

“Not anymore. Anything worth keeping is either in the basement or the barn. I’ve got a crew coming to re-roof and they’re going to have to take everything down to the frame. Since that whole floor will be remodeled, there’s no point in putting up new sheet rock yet. So, it’s just better to have it empty.”

You opened a door to a comfortable room with a painted iron frame bed covered in a dark gray comforter. A small bedside table, chair and chest of drawers completed the room.

“This mine?”

“If it’s okay. I’m right next door. The bathroom is across the hall.”

“It’s great. Thanks.” He looked down the long hall with so many doors. “What did the two of them need with so much space?”

“First, I think her husband’s family inherited it. So, I don’t think they chose it. I also think they may have hosted kids or something here. I read one entry where Rebecca . . .”

“Becca,” Bucky correct you.

“Becca said something about ‘the boys’ coming for another trip. Plus, there’s a ton of winter gear in the basement. Way more than they would need and in all different sizes.”

“Hm.” Bucky shrugged. “Don’t know. So, what do you need me to do?”

You laughed. “Need? Nothing, sweetheart. Not why you’re here.”

His mouth fell open a little.

“You are here to go through your sister’s things and decide what you want to keep so I don’t feel guilty about using, tossing or selling things.” You smiled. “And in the process, I really hope you can find a little more joy than sorrow.”

His eyes softened. “No ulterior motive, huh?”

“I may ask you to lift something at some point.” You winked.

A shadow of a smile loosened his mouth, showing the fullness of his lips. “Fair enough, doll.”

“Doll?”

“If you get to use ‘sweetheart’, I get to use ‘doll’.”

“Fair enough.” You beamed back. “Come on, I want to get through that cabinet before lunch.”

He followed you down the stairs, “You’re feeding me too? Steve warned you how much I eat, right?”

You teased, “Yup. He increased the grant payout by ten percent.”

A huffed laugh came from behind you, causing a flutter in your stomach.

A/N:

If you wish to recieve direct notifications of new stories or updates, please go to NotYetNeedCoffee-Posting, follow and choose 'get notifications'. Thanks!

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x you

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p-artsypants · 6 months

Text

Paint It Black (3) Helping

Robin disappeared three months ago. Now, Jump City's crime rate is mysteriously being taken care of by a normal, albeit strange, teenage boy who goes by the name Black. As the Titans befriend this lunatic, they begin to see a correlation between him and their missing leader. Will they be able to find Robin, or will Black turn them all insane as himself? [Actually, does not contain an OC]

Ao3

Starfire went out for patrol. She hadn’t really wanted to, as she hadn’t wanted to do anything lately. But she’d feel worse if anything happened to a civilian when she could help.

Or if there was a clue to Robin she missed.

She shouldn’t have worried so much. The evening patrol was quiet. As she passed, people smiled and waved. Even on the unpleasant side of town, the men that loitered on stoops gave her nods as greetings.

“Any word about your boyfriend yet?” Some guy asked.

“I am afraid not.”

“Too bad. Hey, keep your chin up, Space Chick. You guys still make this city a good place to live.”

Starfire smiled widely at the man. “That is what we have always strived to do!”

Starfire ended her patrol at the South pier, where the amusement park was. This place held fond and now painful memories for her, as she and Robin had shared many evenings at the park. It was nights when heroes weren’t needed, and they could just be teens. Robin brought her here to share some of the joys of Earth.

They were in their fall season, and in just a few short weeks, they’d be closed until spring. Starfire hadn’t gone at all that year. Most of the season, Robin had been gone, and in the early season, he’d been emotionally absent. Distracted by whatever ended up making him go missing.

“A walk down the pier will not hurt,” she tried to convince herself.

But it did, a lot. As she wandered, her gaze would fall upon the stalls where she’d relive a memory of Robin trying to win her a stuffed animal.

Eventually, she was so downtrodden, she was too sad to fly. In order to get home, she’d need something to pick her mood back up.

The cotton candy cart was open.

Starfire sat down at a bench near the end of the pier with her treat. Yes, some fun sugar would be just enough to get her back.

“Oohh! A pink cloud! Don’t mind if I do!” A hand ripped off a piece of her cotton candy.

“Excuse me!” Starfire snapped, not in the mood to deal with rude people.

But Black sat next to her on the bench, looking out over the ocean with her. Her anger disappeared fairly rapidly.

“Oh, it is only you, Friend Black.”

He turned to her, a huge smile on his face. “You called me your friend!”

But instead of a jovial response, Starfire gaped at him. She hadn’t noticed at first, but now she could see the far side of his face was covered in blood.

“You are bleeding!”

“I am?”

“Your face! It is quite graphic!”

He felt around, and touched the blood. “Ohhh that’s why people were giving me those looks! That makes more sense now.”

She fretted over him, trying to figure out how to fix it. “What has happened? How did you end up in just a state?”

“Oh, I took a stabaroni to the noodle. No bigs.”

“A what to the what?”

“A knife to the head.”

“A knife!? Friend Black, you must come with me to the Tower and get fixed up!”

“Oh I’m fine. Happens all the time.”

This made Starfire even more terrified. “No! I shall take you home and Raven and Cyborg shall fix you up! You cannot run around with an open wound on your head!”

“What about your cotton candy?”

With one swipe of her three foot long tongue and a gulp, the rest of the cotton candy was gone.

“Hot.”

“Now please, come with me!”

Black leapt into her lap. “I’ll go wherever you want me to go, Sweetcheeks!”

Starfire didn’t care about his flirting, and scooped him up into her arms, and took off into the air.

“Wh-wh-whoa!” Black wrapped his arms around her neck. “We’re flying!”

“It is the quickest way home!”

“Wait! Hold me by the waist so I can hold out my arms!”

“No!”

“It’ll be funny!”

“You are gravely injured, Black!”

“Booooo!”

They landed on the roof of Titans Tower, and Starfire set him down gently. “Please, wait here and don’t move!”

He looked around the open rooftop that was easily twelve stories off the ground. “Where would I go?!”

Starfire rushed inside and zoomed through the halls. She headed to the medical wing, and took out her communicator on the way.

“Starfire to all Titans! I found Black while out on patrol! I have left him on the rooftop, and he is gravely injured!”

“Rooftop? Our rooftop?” Beast Boy asked.

“How injured?” Asked Raven.

“I believe he needs sutures! He said he was stabbed!” At this point, she had reached the medical wing and started gathering bandages, the suture kit, and whatever else she thought he’d need. “I am gathering supplies now. I must also add, he smells quite bad.”

“How bad we talkin’? Beast Boy bad?”

“Hey!”

“Worse than Beast Boy!”

“HEY!”

“I’m on my way to the roof,” Raven responded.

Starfire hurried to gather everything and flew back to the roof where Raven and Beast Boy were already waiting. Black was sitting propped up against a wall.

“I don’t know how to help,” said Beast Boy. “But I’m here.”

“Here,” Raven threw him a rag and water bottle from Star’s supply. “Clean his face.”

Black looked relatively calm despite his wound.

“Uh, here dude.” Beast Boy wetted the rag and started dabbing the blood off his cheek.

Black just turned his cheek towards them, a patient and somewhat dim-witted smile on his face.

“I’ll sanitize and numb the area,” Raven hovered her hand over the wound. “Stitches may still hurt, but this will ease the pain.”

“Gee wiz guys! This is awfully nice of you. I kinda like my face, so I didn’t want it to fall off.”

“Whoo!” Beast Boy recoiled. “You weren’t kidding, Star. He reeks!”

“Moldy boy say what?”

“I’m not moldy!”

“I smell an infection. Black, do you have any other injuries?”

“Oh so many, Mrs. Magpie! But no worries. They aren’t so bad. But this one…” he tapped his temple. “This one’s pretty nasty.”

“Alright,” Cyborg declared, coming up to the roof. He started putting on nitrile gloves. “Where’s my crazy buddy?”

“Borgy Boy! I got a boo-boo!”

“You sure do, kid.” He opened the suture kit Starfire retrieved and prepared the needle and thread. “BB, can you hold the rag to his head? Put pressure on it. Star, when I start stitching him up, I will probably need you to hold him still so he doesn’t jerk away.”

“I have that handled!” She slid in behind him, arms around his shoulders.

“Oh, this is nice. I don’t get hugs very often!”

“Here we go,” Cyborg raised the needle.

Black’s eyes widened and true, unrepentant fear scrawled across his face.

“He’s gonna bolt,” Raven observed.

“Not under my watch!” Starfire strong-armed him to her chest, and then used her hand to turn his face and keep him steady. “I am sorry to man-handle you, Friend.”

With the needle out of his vision, he calmed slightly. “You can man-handle me all day, Kim Possible.”

Cyborg pulled the first stitch and Black winced. “Oh!” Then the next one, “owie!” Then the next. “Ouchie!” And then the next—

Black let out a string of profanity that was so foul, it made everyone pause. He hurled slurs and horrible derogatory names. Then, he breathed. “I mean, ow.”

Raven returned her healing magic to his wound and his anger started to wane.

Beast Boy dutifully wiped more blood away.

“Hey, I get the need to swear, but I’m not gonna take you calling me those names, got it, pal?” Cyborg said sternly, putting in the next stitch.

Black winced again. “So so so sorry, Baby Borg. Won’t happen again! Ouchie!”

A few more stitches, and Black behaved, making cutesy sounds of pain before Cyborg either hit another nerve, or the pain was just too much.

“MOTHER–” and Black let the stream of profanity go as he thrashed in Starfire’s arms.

“I do not need to knock you unconscious, do I?” Starfire asked, giving him a hearty squeeze.

Black struggled to breathe for a second, because of Starfire’s grasp. Then he calmed down. “I’m sorry, it just really freaking hurts!”

“Did this one too?” Beast Boy pointed at the scar on his mouth. Both scars were on the same side of his face.

Black flexed his cheek, thinking about it.

“Mmmm can’t remember.”

“It looks like it’s still healing,” Raven commented. “How long did you say you’ve been without your memories?”

He shrugged.

Cyborg put the final stitch in his head, and started rubbing an antiseptic cream on it. “Make sure you keep this clean, okay man?”

“Okie dokie smokie!”

Then, while Starfire still had him pinned, Cyborg examined the scar on his cheek. He stuck a finger in Black’s mouth and felt the inside of his cheek.

“‘AY! ‘Osh a ig iea?” Black garbled.

“This wound went all the way through his face. It looks like it was crudely stitched up. But it mostly healed. Not much to do about it.”

Black blew a raspberry. “You could have warned me before probing me!”

“And if I had, you would have bit me,” Cyborg argued.

“You have no proof!”

“How do you feel?” Starfire asked, releasing him.

Black felt the stitches in his hairline, before Cyborg smacked his hand. “Ow!”

“Don’t touch it!”

“I feel…better. Thank you.”

“Do you need a place to crash for the night?” Beast Boy asked.

“Nah, I got a place.” He looked at Starfire. “You mind flying me back home, Beautiful?”

Starfire gave him a smile. “That, I can do. If you are sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“Here, just in case.” Cyborg gave him the first aid kit that had bandaids and alcohol swabs in it. “Try not to get hurt any more, okay?”

Black tucked the kit inside his coat. “No promises Borgy-Boy.” Then he broke into a dead sprint towards the edge of the tower.

Starfire shrieked and flew after him, catching him just as he cleared the edge. He whooped with joy as they took off into the air.

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Raven said drolly.

—

Starfire flew Black over the city, holding his waist like he had requested the first time. He had his arms out and continued to cry in excitement. “Higher! Faster!”

“Perhaps we shall some other time,” Starfire argued, “for I do not wish to make your wound worse.”

“Kill joy!” He reached up and grabbed her arms. “StarStar, can you drop me off at that tall red and black building?”

“The Wayne Tower?”

“That’s it!”

“Whatever for? It is far from where you said you were living!”

“I need to do something.”

She swooped down, letting his feet touch the roof. She let him go when she was confident he had his balance. Even then, she returned the grip he had on her arms. “Are you certain about this?”

“Yeppers! All good!”

She did not let go. She landed next to him, her brow furrowing. Something inside of her was screaming, demanding that she disobey him. “I am sorry, but I simply must take you to your home. You should rest.”

Black’s dopey grin slowly faded away into a scowl. He tilted his head down, his eyebrows now partially obscuring his eyes. “I insist.” He said darkly.

“As do I!”

His grip on her arms turned painful, as he pulled her closer. “Let me be clear…”

Starfire panicked at this change of tone. Sure, she could handle herself in a fight, but his grip was violent and unyielding.

“I have been watching you and the others for a while now, but you never noticed me. I let you meet me. I let you help me tonight. I allow you to see me. But when I don’t want you to find me, you won’t.”

“B-Black? You are…hurting me…” She winced at his grip.

“Then I know you’re listening.” He pulled her closer still, and forced her to meet those insane blue eyes that were filled with trauma. “You’re going to go back to your tower and tell the rest of them I was delivered safely. You will not tell them you dropped me off here, and you will not tell them what I have said.”

“But–”

His nails dug into her skin. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” He screamed.

“Y-yes!” She cried.

Instantly, he let go, and a friendly smile returned to his face. “Great! Bye bye Twinky Star!” He turned and jumped within the giant ‘W’ sign on the building, and seemingly disappeared.

Starfire, unsettled and quite upset, used any happy memory she had to get her back to the tower.

When she returned, her teammates were still on the roof, talking. She landed, the haunted and stricken look on her face obvious to everyone.

“What’d the weirdo do?”

She took a shuddering breath, the truth lodged in her throat. “As far as you all know, I dropped him off at the abandoned hat factory as he requested.”

“As far as we know?” Raven inquired.

“But…that is only what he asked me to say. He actually had me drop him off at the Wayne building downtown. When I insisted that I should take him home, he…changed.” She looked down to her arms, where little crescent shapes from his nails were visible. “He became…dark. He said he has been watching us, and we see him only when he allows it. Even tonight, he sought me out for help. It was…quite frightening.”

“I believe it!” Beast Boy nearly shouted. “Did I tell you guys that he noticed me following him as a fly?! There’s no way he could have known!”

“Raven, is he perhaps an empath? Or have powers similar to yours?”

“I could try to read his mind again when I see him, but I don’t think I’ll be able to. His mind is just…fragmented.”

“We’re dealing with someone way more dangerous than initially thought.”

“So he stalks us. He’s a crazy fan! At least he’s stopping crime!”

“Or so he wants us to think,” said Raven. “If that’s all we’ve ever seen him do. If he's been watching us, he might be trying to find a way to take us down.”

“We need to find a way to figure out what he’s up to. There is a possibility that he really is a fan and doesn’t want his crime fighting to get in our way. Slim chance, but it shouldn’t be ruled out.”

"Maybe we should ask him to stay with us. I mean, we have extra space now. Be easier to watch him,” suggested Beast Boy.

Starfire stomped in anger. "Are you trying to say you want to replace Robin?!"

"No! No! No!" Cyborg held his hands up in defense. "We would never replace Rob! I think he’s just saying, Black needs a lot of help and if we can at least get him off the streets, we should!"

There was a long pause as the team thought it over.

"Like Terra?" Beast Boy piped in.

"Yeah…"

“Since when do we house homeless psychos?” Raven asked. “It’s more than we usually do. We can help him get into a shelter.”

“No,” said Cyborg. “That kid seems like the type to not stay in a shelter. He’s trying to be independent. He’ll probably get kicked out.”

“It might be worth a shot just…inviting him over? Maybe one night at a time?” Said Beast Boy.

“And he’s got talent,” said Cyborg. “You should have seen him fight. He really handled himself.”

“We should help if we can,” said Starfire. “...don’t you think Robin would think so?”

There was a pause before everyone mutually agreed.

—

“I can’t believe these booger flingers don’t let us put in pick up orders anymore,” Gizmo said, waiting for their fresh pizza to cool down.

Mammoth didn’t wait, and started eating the steaming pie. “Probably memorized our number and know we never pay.”

“Don’t know what they think making us sit in is going to do. I’m still gonna dine and dash.”

The conversation ended quickly as Cyborg and Beast Boy joined them at the table.

“Great! What do you pit sniffers want?!”

“We haven’t even done anything!” Mammoth protested. Then, a little quieter, “yet.”

“I need a favor,” said Cyborg, his eye pinning Gizmo.

“No stinkin’ way! Me, do you a favor? As if!”

Cyborg was not deterred. He placed the SD card onto the table. “You know how to recover corrupted video files?”

Gizmo scoffed, “Of course I know how to do something so simple, you carpet muncher.”

Beast Boy snorted. “Dude, you know what that means?”

“‘Course I do! It means you’re a pea brain and you can stick that card up your—”

“How about a trade?” Cyborg offered, calmly. “I’ll buy your pizza here, and spot you for the next time.”

Gizmo paused. A trade? Very interesting… “How about you pay for our pizza, and—” He grinned, “I want Robin’s files on us.”

“Deal.” Cyborg said easily. “I’ll pay for your dinner now. You can have the files when the job is done.” And he got up.

“Hey, what’s on this thing that’s so important, anyway?”

Cyborg hesitated, but figured Gizmo would probably watch it anyway. “Clues to find Robin.”

Gizmo scoffed. “You think Bird Brain is still alive?”

“No,” Cyborg hung his head. “But we still want to find him.”

After they left, Mammoth looked at the card on the table.

Gizmo picked it up, and popped it into his computer right then and there.

“You’re gonna do it?”

“Free pizza is free pizza.” Then he smirked. “And I’m wildly curious.”

—

The next evening, Black took his normal patrol. The stitches on his head were hidden under a knit cap with a hole in it (from the dumpster). He looked just as grungy as the people he passed on the street.

As he walked through town, he came across an electronic store and saw the news playing on the assortment of screens. It showed five teenagers. Four of whom he recognized.

"There has still been no news of the whereabouts of the Titans leader, Robin, since his disappearance four months ago. The team has issued a statement."

Starfire's face showed up on the screen, her expression grave. "Please, if you have any knowledge of his location, please let us know. We miss him a great deal. Not only was he our leader, but he was also our friend. There is a reward for his return, and if a criminal gives us a tip, we will do our best to have their record cleaned up."

"Starfire?" He asked, looking at the screen.

The newscaster continued. "While the case of the missing leader has yet to be closed, the mayor has allocated the funds to build a statue in honor of the teen hero. The word memorial has been passed around, but the mayor insists this is in honor of Robin and his team."

"Robin?" Why did that name seem so familiar? Why did it make him so angry? Before he realized it, he had punched through the window. Passersby looked at him in concern.

"Leave me alone!" He shouted, covering his face in his bloody hands. His vision blurred and faded as he ran off.

By the time he came back to his senses, he was at his makeshift home, the abandoned hat factory. He took a breath and gathered his emotions. As usual, he couldn’t remember what happened during the duration of his journey here. He couldn’t even remember what route he took. A normal person would have been deeply disturbed by the lapses in lucidity, but Black was not a normal person, and was rather used to it at this point.

What he wasn’t used to, however, were a pair of guards with guns standing in front of the factory. Technically, he had made his home inside the comically large hat that was on top of the factory as decoration, but he did occasionally sneak into the factory on colder nights.

“What’s good, my dudes?” Black asked, strolling up to the guards.

“Beat it kid,” one said with a growl.

Black did not leave, but considered these men more, strolling past them with a finger on his chin.

The guards were armed, but they were wearing suits like ushers in a theater. Complete with red cumberbuns.

“You gentlemen look dapper! Is the factory getting back in business?”

“I said scram!” The guard said again.

“What kind of guns are those?”

“The lethal kind.” And one of the guards raised his weapon and aimed it at Black. “Not gonna tell you again, get lost!”

“You’ve said three different things,” Black argued. “Beat it, scram, get lost. What do you want me to do?”

“Is this kid stupid?” One guard asked the other.

“Clearly.”

“Okay, but like, I live here. Not here, but in the hat. I fixed it up nice too! So if this place is back in business, I think it’s only fair that I pay rent. I have a few nickels?”

A voice called from inside, “What in the name of Houdini is going on out there?!”

“Nothing boss, just a dumb goth kid!”

“Black?! Is that you!?” Beast Boy’s voice followed a beat after.

“Man, get out of here!” Cyborg called.

Oh, so this was a super villain thing! His first big break!

“Ohhhh…” Black nodded sagely. “I see what this is.”

“Then you have to the count of 3! 1…2…–”

Black sent a fist one way and a kick the other. Striking one enemy in the face and the other in the balls. Ball man dropped his gun and curled up while face man shot a few rounds into the air. Black followed up on face man with a karate chop to the throat, punch to the stomach, and escorted his face into the pavement. Ball man started to recover, but not quickly enough before getting donkey kicked in the knee and then slammed backwards into the wall, unconscious.

Black then went to the now-unguarded door, and threw it open.

Inside, he saw his friends dangling together from a variety of colored ribbons in the center of the room. They were encased in a dark energy, while surrounded on the outside by several more of those well-dressed guards with guns. A man with blue skin and a top hat stood on a crate on the edge of the room.

“Black, you must leave!” Starfire yelled. “This is not a fight for you!”

“Ah! So this is the little street Batman I’ve heard so much about!” The villain, Mumbo, laughed. “By all means, I’d love to see you try anything. The Titans walked right into my trap, and unless you have anything remotely helpful, they will die. And you will too, unless you turn around and walk out.”

Three guards changed their aim from the Titans to Black.

Black put his hands on his hips. “You aren’t being hospitable.”

Raven scoffed. “This kid is going to get himself killed.”

Mumbo just laughed. “Not only am I not hospitable, but I’m outwardly hostile! Did you miss that?!”

Black frowned hard. “I really freaking hate clowns.”

“I’m not a clown! I’m a magician!”

“Then why do you look like a strange Smurf-Pinochino crossbreed?”

Mumbo turned purple and literal steam blew out his ears. “Oh so he thinks he’s a comedian! Kill him!”

“No!” Starfire shouted.

But Black merely darted behind a stack of crates, taking no shots. The henchmen continued firing on the crates, splintering the wood.

“Cease fire!” Mumbo called after the crates were nearly destroyed. “That should be enough. Besides, ammo is expensive. No need to waste it on a little pretend hero.” He waved to someone to go check.

“Boss, he’s gone!”

“What?!”

“There’s an open vent over here!”

A voice called angrily from the ceiling. “Get your bitch ass out of my basement, ya goober!”

“He’s in the ventilation system!” Mumbo called.

The henchmen started shooting at the exposed aluminum ductwork. The sprinkler system got hit and water started raining down in the room.

“Stop wasting bullets you idiots!”

The moment they stopped shooting, Black popped out of the vent directly above the Titans, now gray and fuzzy from dust, and descended the scarves like a Cirque Du Soleil acrobat, contorting into inhuman shapes.

“Black, seriously, you’re outnumbered! We all are!” Cyborg warned.

Black just laughed as he continued to twist and flip, cutting the fabric with a pocket knife as he descended. He hit the dark aura that surrounded his friends, expecting to be able to move into it.

“Hey, what gives?”

“That’s Raven’s shield, it’s the only thing keeping us from being shot!” Said Beast Boy.

“Then how the beans am I supposed to rescue you guys?”

“You aren’t!” Said Cyborg, “we’ll figure a way out, but you need to go! We can’t protect you!”

“Black!” Starfire shrieked.

Black heeded her warning, and swung on the scarves to avoid the bullet aimed at his back. Then he glared at the henchmen that had shot at him. “It’s rude to interrupt a conversation!” He leapt from the shield and took a flying kick at the henchman, drilling the man with his heel and knocking him unconscious.

Black wasted no time in his next attack, artfully flipping through the air to pounce and attack the next goon.

“What are you waiting for?!” Shouted Mumbo. “Shoot him now!”

“I can’t get a clear shot without hitting the others!” A goon called as Black soared through the sky and careened two skulls together.

“Screw the others! I want that heckler dead!”

“Raven, this side is clear!” Starfire announced as she finally burned through the scarves holding her.

Raven released one side of the shield so Starfire could help Black. Beast Boy turned into a beaver and finished gnawing through the half burnt scarves holding him as well.

“No!” Mumbo lamented. “I had you! They said you were all a bunch of unorganized morons without Robin!”

Beast Boy turned into a rhino to clear the side that Raven and Cyborg were on. Raven was then able to free herself and Cyborg. “We’ll take that into consideration to be more careful next time we think we have a feeble old man cornered.”

In a last ditch effort, Mumbo cast a spell at Starfire, catching her in the air in a cocoon of vibrant scarves again. He sent her crashing into a stack of boxes in the back of the warehouse. Anyone who knew the alien, knew she was fine. But Black didn't.

Almost immediately after the crash. Black screamed in protest, the sound startling everyone. "NO!!!" A look of sheer anger scrawled across his face, his eyes alight with hatred. He ran full throttle at the magician, screaming.

Mumbo let out a girlish shriek and tried to shield himself. Black did a double front flip and came up underneath his arms, locking his knees round the man's neck. The boy turned his hips violently and threw Mumbo around, and cranked him down to the concrete.

Cyborg came running when he heard his neck snap and him scream in pain. Mumbo laid on the ground, crying. The last three henchmen that had been fighting stopped and put their hands up.

"DON’T. TOUCH. HER!" Black shouted in Mumbo’s face, speaking between punches. "NEVER. TOUCH. HER!" He kicked the man on the ground, then brought his foot up, preparing to smash his heel into his head.

Starfire, who had already recovered, grabbed Black by his shoulders and pulled him back. "I am fine, friend. Do not fret!"

"You are a very bad man!" Black spat at the magician.

"P-please…I-I can't feel my legs…" After that attack, Mumbo had reverted back to his old man form, his magic faded away. "Help me!" He weakly grabbed Cyborg's arm. "I'll give up crime forever! Just-just get him away from me!"

"What is your problem?!" Beast Boy yelled at Black. "Don't you know anything?! You could have killed him! He's a thief! That's hardly worth the death sentence!"

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Black shouted with sarcasm. "But I thought my best friends' safety was most important! What about a thank you?! Or perhaps a Burger King coupon of gratitude?" Tears collected in his eyes. "I guess I don't really have any friends!" He turned and ran out of the warehouse.

"Wait! Black!" Starfire called.

"Later, Star! Mumbo needs medical attention!"

The alien watched dismally as the insane boy disappeared into the shadows.

The paramedics and police came and left. Mumbo had officially retired from crime, left with no choice, since he was now paralyzed. His henchmen that were still conscious were arrested, and some gave statements. In all, a bizarre end to a Titan battle.

The team began to shuffle into the car when Starfire looked up to the top hat atop the building.

"Coming Star?" Cyborg asked.

"No. I wish to talk to Black. I shall meet you all at home later."

Cyborg nodded at her request, and soon they were gone. Star floated up and hovered a few feet from the hat.

The hat was hollow, a fine shelter if you could get up to it. Black sat as a lump. His collar nearly covered his head, and he had his back to her.

The last time they had been alone, he had shown her a different side to himself. A cold, dark, cruel side. It made her defensive, but not unwilling to help this boy.

"Black?" She asked.

"Frankie died," He replied.

The Alien hovered over to look over the boy's shoulder. In his hands lay a pigeon, unmoving. "I am sorry. I can not imagine the feeling of losing a pet."

"It feels like I stepped on a lego." He sniffed. "Unforgiving." He stood up quickly and clutched the bird. "IT'S THE CIRCLE OF LIFE!" He then chucked the dead animal hard into a nearby building. "I rather enjoy a good round of Angry Birds." Then he dusted off his hands, smiling normally, like nothing bad had happened in the last hour.

Starfire cleared her throat and lowered to kneel on the roof. "I want to thank you for coming to our aid. And at the end, for standing up for me, but you did not have to. When I came to this planet, I created a massive crater in the asphalt, and came out without a scratch. It will take a lot for something to hurt me. We were working on a plan to get free, but you were most effective."

"Will I be sent to jail?" He asked, finally looking up at her with worry.

“I do not believe so, so say the police. Mumbo will need to go to a treatment facility instead of prison. We will take care of this.”

"That’s good." He rubbed his eyes. "I feel very icky."

"Are you ill?" She reached out and touched his forehead.

"I felt like this after Green Boy yelled at me."

"Beast Boy," she corrected.

"Yeah, him."

"I think, perhaps, you feel guilty."

"Guilty?"

"It is the feeling one gets after they have done something they know is wrong. I think you are feeling upset with yourself. But, you did not know, and it was an accident."

"I'm…I’m not all there." He stated, pulling his hat off and ringing it in his hands. "I know. I have moments where I lose lucidity. I think that might be insanity. But I want to be a good insane. Not a bad insane. I was so close to being a murderer tonight. That scares me…more than clowns scare me." He nodded to indicate it was very serious.

"Is there such a thing as a good insane?" She asked.

“If there is, I will be the first.”

She smiled at that.

"You should smile more often. It gives me goose pimples."

“What made you jump in to help us? It seemed as if you did not hesitate to do so.”

He scrunched up his face in thought as he laid back on top of the roof. “D’know. I saw the guards outside with guns and I just like…knew what to do. Everyone kept telling me to leave, but that seemed like a dumb thing to do.” He shrugged. “I am a pretty big fan of clunking people.”

"Black, why don't you come back with me to the tower?" She took his hand. "We can help you. Maybe you can even remember who you used to be."

He shook his head. "No, no. I can handle myself. I like it here, in my hat. And I don't want to know who I was. He gives me nightmares that I don't want to have."

"I understand. I was hesitant to accept help when I came here. But, if you ever need anything, just let us know. I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of each other."

He looked at himself. "Except I don't have any other clothes, so unless my shirt rips off, I don't think you'll see much more than this."

She giggled. "Have a nice evening, Black."

He stared at her hard with his piercing blue eyes. His glance was calculating, unsure. His brows furrowed. "Starfire?"

Her eyes widened. "Y-yes?" At that moment, she wasn’t sure why, but she thought of Robin. Mumbo had been a great distraction, but the way Black said her name, it reminded her…

He pursed his lips, but that look of intense concentration faded away. "I've puzzled and puzzled until my puzzler was sore. And there's something about you that I've known from before."

"Is it the friend you told me about? The one you said you loved?"

"Maybe. But then again, what is love?"

Starfire blinked, not really knowing how to answer that.

"Baby don't hurt me," He sang as he bobbed his head.

She laughed, not really getting the reference. "Farewell, Black."

"Too-da-loo, Starfire."

#fanfiction #paint it black #teen titans #tt animated #robin #starfire #robstar #beast boy #cyborg #raven #dick grayson #koriand'r

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